A Graduation Gift

The sound of heels clicking on the tiled floor faded as Cassandra watched Ivy's receding figure down the hall. When she was out
of sight, Cassandra suddenly felt quite tired.
It was said that people always sympathized with the weak, and in this case—she felt sympathetic towards Ivy. Cassandra had
truly felt sorry for her, yet she had no choice but to decline her request.
The heavy feeling in her body made her heart sink, but Cassandra tried to cheer herself up and continued to work on the design
of the nursing home. Her attempt was successful as a few hours later she got so engrossed in her work that she even forgot to
eat her lunch, which had been sent to her office earlier. Fortunately, her efforts had paid off. When it was time to get off duty, the
brief draft was almost completed.
She had just ironed out some details in her work when the door burst open to reveal Victor, who looked cold and emotionless like
usual.
"Manager Qin, please get yourself tidy up a bit. There is a meeting to discuss about the application of the Director of the Union.
Mr. Luo wants you to go with him," he said in a flat voice.
Cassandra simply nodded in understanding.
Ever since Rufus had entered Tang Group, he had been gearing up for the set-up of the Union of Real Estate in G City. In his
opinion, the possibilities were endless when many businesses came together and united. Many hands made the job light, after
all.
The board was optimistic about his idea as well, thus, the whole process had been bouncing along.
Now, all the members had been already confirmed. The only thing left was the appointment of the Director of the Union, which
would be decided by voting.
The high position was actually just a mere title, but winning it would elevate Tang Group's reputation.
Ultimately, only the strongest group in G City could gain recognition from the most members and win power through the ballot
box.
Cassandra knew how much time and energy Rufus had devoted to preparing for the application. She understood that it was a
crucial time for the leaders to discuss the matter.

After she finished getting ready, Cassandra went down to the ground floor lobby and walked out of the building. Rufus's Rolls
Royce Phantom had already been waiting outside for her.
Upon getting in the car, she was surprised to see someone else was sitting inside as well.
"Michelle! Why are you here?" Cassandra asked. Michelle whipped her head around from the passenger seat.
Her lips curved into a smile, the shocked expression on Cassandra's face making her quite happy.
"Would you mind if I join you? Rufus, let's move!" Michelle said friendly.
Finally, the car engine started and they drove off to their destination. The trip was fairly quiet, but a thousand questions boggled
Cassandra's mind. She managed to refrain from asking any of them.
It was apparently Rufus's idea to ask Michelle to accompany them. Although she didn't know why, she still trusted him and
thought that to stay silent might be a good choice.
After some time of driving, the car finally halted near the gate of a five-star hotel. Rufus signaled for them to get off, then drove
away without a word.
"What? Isn't Mr. Luo going with us?" Cassandra couldn't get more confused. She was told to go with him for a business
appointment.
However, Rufus just drove away without any explanation. Why did he leave? So...what now?
A soft hand held Cassandra's arm. She turned around to see Michelle, with a smile painted on her face.
"You are the only one we need. Let's go, ' cheered Michelle.
Cassandra followed Michelle passively inside the hotel. After a few moments, they were ushered into a room.
Four women chatted leisurely inside. A relatively older woman greeted Michelle cheerfully when they entered the room.
She gave her a light peck on the cheek and said,"Hey, Michelle. There you are! Come, come here! We've been waiting for you
for a long time! Oh? This is...?" The woman hesitantly paused mid-sentence when she saw Cassandra, who stood beside
Michelle.
It was clear that she didn't know her. However, Michelle cast her a genial look and touched Cassandra's arm.

"Don't you recognize her? I thought you would! Lyndsy sent her the dress from my auction. Don't you remember? She's a friend
of Lyndsy's!" Michelle said.
Then, she gently nudged Cassandra forward.
These women were undoubtedly present at the auction as well. They finally remembered Cassandra and started talking loudly
among themselves.
"Oh! Yes! I remember her! That pretty lady. What's her name? Cassandra? Right?" one of them piped up.
She was a much younger woman, and her hands clapped excitedly in surprise.
"Oh, Michelle. Did you bring her here to make us feel jealous? You know how much we love that dress!"
The atmosphere immediately became light and casual as the rest of the ladies began to strike up a fun conversation.
Meanwhile, Michelle inched closer beside Cassandra. "They are families of some prominent political figures in this city. Take the
chance," she whispered lowly to Cassandra's ear.
In turn, Cassandra understood and knew everything at once.
Although the final result of the Director of Union mainly depended on votes, those in the upper management still had the final say
on which group would be appointed.
Thus, Rufus had Michelle bring Cassandra to the hotel to establish a good relationship with these ladies, in case that Tang
Group might ask them for help someday in the future.
Michelle was like an old fish that was used to the waters—she instantly joined the conversation and had no problems fitting right
in. However, Cassandra was still a rookie when it came to these things. She seldom attended such activities and surely had no
clue on how to mingle so she didn't say much.
However, thanks to the information intentionally or unintentionally given by Michelle, Cassandra knew that the relatively older
woman was the mayor's wife.
Michelle's circle in G City seemed like her fashion circle. She had a lot of friends from the upper class.
The women suggested playing mahjong after dinner. And so, the table was set up. Cassandra was nominated, whether she
wanted or not.

She adamantly refused,"No, no, no. I don't know how to play this at all!"
Never had she played a game of mahjong before, nor did she know its rules.
However, the mayor's wife did not take no for an answer. "It's okay! I'll sit next to you. I can teach you! Everyone woman is
supposed to know how to play it!" she pressed.
Her thin hand squeezed Cassandra's shoulder to keep her from running away, and then she sat down behind her to offer
suggestions during the game.
It was true that Cassandra was a total newbie. In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that her life revolved around her designs.
She had no spare time and energy to play games like mahjong.
"Cassandra, don't worry. It's okay that you don't know the rules. I'll be your first teacher in this case!" the mayor's wife giggled
from behind her back.
When she saw Cassandra clumsily draw the tiles, she realized that this young lady didn't lie about her lack of skill in the game.
Yet she was glad to see that because she felt fulfilled by being a teacher in the match.
"Cassandra, listen carefully. You know something? When you are older and retired, you could at least play mahjong with your
friends when you are bored to kill time!" the mayor's wife said.
On the left sat Michelle, who was drawing the tiles while happily chatting with them.
"Yeah, mahjong is good! I heard that playing it can protect people against Alzheimer's!" she started.
The lady who sat next to Michelle was the wife of the secretary of construction committee. It was she who proposed to play
mahjong.
"Really? That's a terrible disease. I'm afraid my children would dislike me should I develop that. I would prefer to stay in a nursing
home in that situation. Oh, speaking of that, rumor has it that a new nursing home will be built in our city. It has been reported by
the media. It's said that it would ease the shortage of the existing nursing home," she said.
A nursing home? Cassandra caught the key words. Wasn't it the same nursing home she was designing?
She might not be a good mahjong player, but she was an expert when it came to the nursing home because she was part of its
design team.

"The design draft of the nursing home is almost completed. I finished the structure before I came here," Cassandra said in a laid-
back yet gentle tone, as if she was talking about the weather.
However, her words caught everyone's attention and piqued their interests.
"You finished the structure? Are you a designer?" the wife of the secretary of the construction committee asked. Her eyes
widened in surprise.
She first thought that Cassandra was from the fashion circle like Michelle, but it turned out that she was a designer!
"Yeah. I am the design department manager of Tang Group. This nursing home is our case, and I'm in charge of it," Cassandra
blithely said.
She was internally thrilled when their current topic caught their attention. Finally, there was something she could talk about.
"So, what are the details of this nursing home? Could you tell us more?" the mayor's wife asked. The older woman was also
curious about the nursing home.
She had never anticipated that this young lady, who looked so beautiful as a star, to be a designer. What was more, she was the
manager of Tang Group's design department! The mayor's wife initially viewed Cassandra as too young to be a leader. Aha, they
say that never judge a book by its cover.
"We have included all the basic facilities a nursing home should have, but I add a new idea. We could spare a piece of land for a
special purpose to enrich the elders' lives. My suggestion is to use this land to grow some fruit trees. Everyone could enjoy the
fruits and feel the happiness of harvesting."
The mayor's wife nodded in agreement.
"That's true. The elders are most afraid of the boring life in the nursing home. This idea would give them the chance to stimulate
their minds and do some proper exercises. It's a great idea," she said.
Suddenly, she pointed at one tile Michelle had discarded and happily clapped her hands.
"Cassandra! You can claim the tile to win! It's Michelle's tile!"
In reality, Cassandra was clueless. She just followed the guidance of the mayor's wife.
"Oh! No way! Bad luck for me!" Michelle whined, but a smile rested on her face.

She secretly winked at Cassandra, who was smart enough to understand everything quickly. Michelle had done it on purpose.
"You are such a good teacher! As for your student, she had won so quickly!" the director of the secretary's wife praised
Cassandra.
Shortly after, another round began.
It was easy to establish a relationship in the mahjong game. Some people won while some people lost. Under the guidance of
the mayor's wife, Cassandra won the most money in the later game.
She was aware that this outcome might have had something to do with the mayor's wife who had the highest status among
them. Now, Cassandra learned that diplomatic strategies also existed in a mahjong game.
During the whole time, Cassandra behaved quite well. She was natural and gracious, and all the other women were full of praise
for her manner. When talking about a professional topic, Cassandra explained it to them in simple words that the ordinary person
would understand. She spoke about lots of interesting facts in the field of design, from home to abroad, and all the ladies drank
in her every word.
After the game was over, everyone was ready to leave. Michelle and Cassandra said goodbye to them at the hotel gate.
When the ladies had left, Rufus's car came over. Michelle opened the door and motioned Cassandra to get in.
"Rufus, you didn't leave and waited here all the time?" Michelle asked. Then she added,"Don't worry. Cassandra did a perfect job
today!"