A Graduation Gift

All of a sudden, Cassandra became the backbone of the whole family. She stayed calm as much as she could. Edith and Cloris
finally managed to calm themselves down. They listened to Cassandra and went to the bathroom to wash up before going to
bed.
When Edith and Cloris left the living room, and she was left alone, Cassandra felt that she had been drained with all her strength.
She lost her balance and fell down on the floor with a loud thud.
Cassandra was bothered however, why the heating machine inside the mansion wasn't turned on. Strangely, all the servants
were gone too, the tables and the pieces of furniture were covered with dust. It seemed that it hadn't been cleaned for a long
time.
Just half a year ago, the Qin family was very wealthy and decent. How come the luxurious mansion turned into such a shabby,
deserted house overnight?
Although their business wasn't doing great, at least they were still earning profits. They didn't need to be this wretched.
Cassandra walked out of the house while holding her throbbing head. She found Rufus beside his parked car by the gates. He
had been waiting for her, still.
As he saw her coming, Rufus lit a cigar and puffed a heave of smoke from it. He was smoking heavily and there were butts
everywhere.
Cassandra thought Rufus had left after what seemed like eternity dealing with her mother and cleaning up the mansion. She
didn't expect him to wait for her.
She walked towards him very quietly. He was looking at the sky so she lifted up her head too. The sky was filled with stars
tonight and the moon cast a shy glow that illuminated the ether.
"It's late now. Why don't you just come inside and stay for the night? Our guest room is comfortable enough. You can leave the
next morning."
Thinking about how Rufus drove several hours to bring her back, Cassandra felt grateful and moved.
"Thank you, but I'm fine. I'll be staying in my car."
To Cassandra's surprise, Rufus rejected her.

"Although the heating machine is out, I can give you an electric blanket. You won't feel cold."
Cassandra thought Rufus was afraid of being cold since the heating machine didn't work.
Cigarette smokes rose up in the air as Rufus put out his cigar. His face went serious after hearing Cassandra's words.
'Afraid of feeling cold?' he thought. Of all the things to consider, he wasn't bothered by the thought of a slight chill. Rufus was not
afraid of the cold at all.
He wasn't a spoiled son from a rich family who hadn't been through any difficulties. Rufus used to sleep on bare concrete floors
and all he got was a thin mat. The mat, however, didn't help him stay warm during those cold nights.
Even though he was very tired and sleepy, all he could do was take some naps. He couldn't sleep well because he kept on
shivering.
Unlike Rufus, Lionel was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. When he was a child, he was surrounded by a bunch of servants.
He got the best meals, the best clothes, and the best education. Besides, there awaited a large company for him to inherit.
Sadly for Rufus, it was the other way around.
He went into the training camp. Those years which he had spent there were so painful that he could never forget that experience
for the rest of his life.
He shed more sweats and tears more than Lionel ever had in his life. The difficulties he had overcome was much more than
those of Lionel. If he were on his place, Lionel could never have endured what Rufus had gone through.
Thus, there was no way for Rufus to be afraid of the cold. He had gone through that and been used to the sensation.
"I will just stay in the car. Why don't you go back inside? It's cold outside. I'll drive you to the detention center to visit your father
in the day."
Then he opened the car door, got into the car and reclined the seat. He was ready to sleep.
Standing next to the car, Cassandra heaved a sigh and her breath could be seen in the cold air. She opened the car and sat on
the passenger seat.
Rufus turned his face to stare at Cassandra. His eyes were deep and swollen.

Cassandra also turned her face to look intensely at Rufus' eyes. She said sincerely, "Thank you."
She didn't know what else to say to him except for these words of gratitude. Rufus just smiled. He stretched out his hand and
touched Cassandra's hair. He was saddened to see her in such ordeals.
"Everything will be okay as long as you're fine."
Cassandra felt warm again. Everything seemed to be fine when she was with Rufus as if everything would fall into its places with
just one snap of his fingers. She felt safe and secured whenever he was around. In an effort to stop her tears from falling,
Cassandra bit her lips and nodded her head sternly at Rufus.
"Hopefully, everything would be okay," she muttered.
Day broke, Cassandra and Rufus went to the detention center to look for Vernon. He had been there for just one night, but he
looked much withered. He seemed to grow a lot of mustaches overnight.
Cassandra knew that Vernon must have been interrogated for the whole night, that was why he looked so exhausted. She felt
sorry for her father, her eyes brimmed with tears.
When Vernon caught sight of Cassandra, there was excitement in his eyes. But seconds later, he became calm.
It was Cassandra, not Cloris, his favorite daughter.
There were a lot of officials around them. Cassandra dared not to ask her father what happened. All she could do was to cheer
him up. She comforted him by promising that she would try her best to oil the wheels.
But the truth was that she had no idea about what to do or whether she had the ability to help her father. But what else could she
do? She couldn't make her father feel more worried.
Cassandra knew from Vernon's eyes that he had done something bad or even illegal and the police had the evidence.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be detained.
Vernon had signed a contract for a construction project with the government. To ensure that he could win the project, Vernon
bribed the official who was in charge of the bid.
Now the construction wasn't even completed halfway, someone reported that the company was cutting short the budget,
compromising the quality of the project. Yesterday, there were lots of news online with endless reposted tweets. Thus, police

officers of the North District in G City started their investigation immediately and arrested Vernon and the official involved.
The jelly-built project was there for the public to see. Vernon couldn't deny it. The best out of the worst was that the project hadn't
been finished and it hadn't caused any damage so far. Therefore, there was still a chance for Cassandra to use her network to
see whether she could help her father straighten things out.
The post which reported Vernon was anonymous, so it was hard for Cassandra to find the person responsible for her father's
arrest.
She didn't know whether it was the official or Vernon who offended someone. Either way, the Qin family was fraught with grim
possibilities this time.
Running out of option, Cassandra decided to call Horace. Horace sounded very concerned on the other end of the phone.
"Cassandra, I've talked to one of the officials who are in charge of this case about your father's situation. You can go to his office
later and listen to his opinion. Call me if you need anything."
"Okay...I'll do that. Thank you."
Cassandra didn't know how to thank Horace for all the help he had given her.
"No problem. We're family. Go and talk to him."
Horace hung up the phone. He raised his eyebrows and asked Jill to continue the massage on his shoulders.
He was lying in bed, enjoying Jill's massage.
"Vernon is so careless this time. It is just a small project. And yet he failed to handle it and got caught. I guess he might end up in
prison. I told you not to help the Qin family back then. They know nothing about running a business. But you just ignored me.
Worse was, you asked Lionel to marry his daughter."
Jill couldn't hide her contempt. She complained while giving Horace a massage. Horace, who had his eyes closed while savoring
the massage, didn't look worried at all, way different from how he sounded on the phone.
"I don't care as long as he didn't drag the Tang Group down with him. Four years ago, I decided to lend him money to help him
make a quick turnover. I have to admit that his idea at that time was good and it would help our company make profits. And I

didn't lose my money anyway. In fact, I have earned more profits, ten times of the money I lent him that year. As for Cassandra,
she is a talented designer..."
Before Horace finished his words, Jill pinched him harder and interrupted him.
"I really don't think Cassandra is such a talented designer. Don't you see the news? She plagiarized other's work. Just as the
saying goes, a fish stinks from the head down. Like father, like daughter. See what Vernon has done! He not only lost his money
but also got himself into prison. How could an incapable man like him have a great daughter anyway?"
Every time she thought about Cassandra plagiarizing other's work, Jill's disappointment towards her grew stronger.
"Well, Vernon never mentioned to me that he had won the project. How could he win the bid and take the project, considering
that his company is so small? The only possible reason was that he bribed the officials."
Horace turned around, changed his position and stretched out his arm, letting Jill give his arm a rub-down.
"You're right. So I am not going to get involved in this. What I could do is to connect Cassandra with the police. She has to solve
the problem on her own."
Jill's massage skills were great. Horace was very relaxed.
Seeing Horace so chilled and unperturbed, Jill felt happy too. This was one of the many rare occasions that he was not
contradicting her opinions. She thought, 'So, the massage is working.'
Ivy was the one who suggested the idea of giving Horace a massage to Jill. She told her that she learned it from a famous
Japanese masseuse. Moreover, she hyped that aside from the relaxation and relief the massage would ignite the cold treatment
Horace had for her. She assured Jill that Horace's passionate feelings for her would be restored anew.
Jill was fond of massages. She frequently visited wellness spas to relieve herself from stress. But by herself, she knew nothing
about those skills and would never offer to learn them.
However, Ivy told her that she once gave the massage to Lionel, and he enjoyed it very much. Lionel even would ask her to do it
for him once in a while.
"Thank God, I'm pregnant now. Otherwise, I have to massage him again. Auntie Jill, why don't you learn the skills and use on
Uncle Horace? I'm sure he will be very happy if you do that for him," Ivy cheerfully suggested.

Horace sat in front of a chair the whole day and was always busy with his work. He used to find a masseuse twice in a week.
Thinking about this, Jill thought if she learned the skill, she could not only help Horace ease the burden but also enhance their
relationship. 'So why not?' Jill thought.
After learning the craft from Ivy, she decided to give it a try tonight. Horace was impressed.
He praised her by saying, "You really impress me, honey. I didn't know you know how to massage." Moreover, to show his
genuine happiness, Horace even bought her two limited edition bags from abroad.
Jill gave the bright colored one to Ivy. She thanked her for teaching her the massage skills and was beginning to like her even
more.
As for Cassandra...
she walked out of the detention center and headed to another building, looking for the official that Horace had mentioned to her.
The bright skies of the day gradually turned dark. 'It must be an unpeaceful winter, ' Cassandra concluded.