A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 89

The surprise was evident on Cassandra's face. The Dylon in front of her seemed to be a different Dylon from their previous encounters.

Normally, she would see him dressed in casual clothes, making him look younger than he actually was. His aura was that of a boy-next-door; but now, he was dressed in a slick and chic navy pinstriped suit. Even she had to admit that he looked rather handsome and more mature than usual.

"I knew Michelle from when we were both abroad. She's my friend. We met at a film festival,"

Seeing her shocked reaction upon meeting him, Dylon kindly explained.

"Oh, I see."

In that case, it made sense that Dylon would be here.

"I didn't expect that you and Michelle were such good friends that you're sitting in the front."

With a wink at Cassandra, he gestured to the VIP section. Because Dylon himself was assigned to the second row, it would indeed seem like Cassandra was really good friends with Michelle to get a front seat.

"I'm just lucky to have gotten a seat here. In fact, I really don't know her well enough. She's a pretty big celebrity, after all."

As she explained, a person walked towards her direction and sat down beside her. When she turned to see who it was, it gave her another big shock to see it was Lyndsy.

Seeing that Cassandra was there as well, Lyndsy turned to her and smiled fondly.

It couldn't be helped that Cassandra was a little mesmerized by Lyndsy's beauty. With a smile so warm, even Cassandra's heart skipped a beat seeing it directed at her.

"What a nice coincidence to meet you again here. Thank you for your help earlier."

As she thanked Cassandra with a grateful tone, her bright smile never faltered.

"Cassandra, you know Lyndsy?"

Seeing their interaction, Dylon was rather surprised to see that the two were acquainted with each other. He never would have suspected that a humble person like Cassandra would know so many famous people.

"Um... I actually just met her earlier."

The reply was honest, as Cassandra didn't even know how to explain to Dylon how they met. Just then, when she glanced at the entry of the assembly hall, a few men and women walked in, cladding in nice outfits that caught the crowd's eye.

The two in front walked arm in arm, sharing in conversation and laughter. They truly made an attractive couple, but it was a shock for Cassandra to see Arthur and her sister Cloris together.

It was normal, of course, for Arthur to be invited since the Dawn Star Company was very famous in G City.

'But why is Cloris here?' Cassandra thought. 'More importantly, why is she here with Arthur? Did he invite her to accompany him?' The very idea puzzled Cassandra all of a sudden.

Noticing that she was lost in her own thoughts, Dylon glanced at the direction she was staring at and found Arthur standing by the entrance.

"If I've guessed right, the man you're looking at is the Dawn Star Company's CEO, isn't he?"

Holding a thoughtful look on his face, he wondered how Cassandra knew Arthur as well. He was still curious about how she knew all these famous people.

"Do you know him?"

Hearing his words, she looked at Dylon curiously, because she didn't think that the man in front of her would know someone like Arthur.

"Well, sort of. My father knows his father."

Though she found his answer rather vague, she didn't press the issue further.

To cut the conversation short, she turned around. As long as Arthur's seat wasn't near hers and she hid herself well, she wasn't likely to be noticed by him.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Arthur said to Cloris, "If you see something you like, just tell me so I can buy it for you."

Although there was a gentle smile on Cloris's face, his eyes turned rather thoughtful.

"Thank you, but there's no need for that. I'm already very happy that you even invited me to this grand event. How could I let you spend more money on me?"

With a sweet smile on her face, Cloris refused to accept his big offer. Still, she felt very delighted that he was even willing to offer her such an expensive gift.

After the night she cut the strap on her sister's dress and made Cassandra humiliate herself, Cloris received her internship performance evaluation from the Human Resource Department, saying that she performed rather poorly.

Guessing that it might have had to do with Cassandra, Cloris couldn't help but be angry at her sister for trying to scheme against her. With this held in her heart, she packed up her bags and went straight home, never contacting her sister again.

Their mother told her the news that Cassandra had been ill and staying in a hospital for a while, but she didn't bother calling her sister to ask about her well-being. The whole incident still displeased her greatly and she wasn't about to forgive what she believed her sister had done to her.

Instead, Cloris simply stayed on campus and continued the last year of her studies until she received Arthur's invitation to the charity auction.

As a senior, Arthur was known for being handsome and kind towards everyone. It would be a lie to herself if Cloris said she didn't have any feelings for this man.

In her heart, though, Rufus still had a great hold on her. No one could ever compare with his perfection. Truly, she wanted Rufus and even hoped to snatch the golden bachelor sooner or later.

"Ha, ha, that's not a big deal, Cloris. The money will be donated anyway, so it's good for charity."

A gentle smile roaming over his face, his kind words made Cloris swoon. Even Cloris was fond of such a man.

Their seats were in the second row. But as soon as they sat down, Cloris froze when she looked around and saw a very familiar face.

Noticing her strange reaction, Arthur looked towards where she was staring, curious to look at who made her react in such a way. His eyes landed on a familiar woman.

Because of the place they were in, they could only see the back of her head and neck, but it was enough for Arthur to recognize Cassandra immediately.

"You didn't know that your sister would be here too?" he asked in a casual tone.

Ever since Casandra beat him and won during that last bidding, Arthur had grown more and more curious about her.

While a beautiful woman, Cassandra was just as competent. Still, she would stay low-key and didn't try to flaunt that she was the daughter-in-law of the Tang family in front of other people. Her true identity remained a secret in their company and it further sparked Arthur's curiosity. Her character was mysterious, cryptic, and enticing, drawing him to want to get to know her better.

Because of their competition with the Tang Group, Arthur couldn't help but notice his rival, Rufus.

Obviously, he had already told his people to collect data on the man, but they came back with only little information which he couldn't understand. The ten years during which Rufus was supposedly abroad was a big mystery.

In fact, when his people had found some information on Rufus, there didn't seem to be any issues with the data. As soon as Arthur looked closer, though, he found that it was all a huge lie. Once, when he asked the company that Rufus claimed to work for, nobody had ever even heard of his name. His claim to working there must have been a lie.

Still, the company's name was clearly written in Rufus's CV. It was too strange and Arthur couldn't help but keep wondering what Rufus was up to when he was abroad.

The Tang Group was a great threat to the Dawn Star Company, and Arthur was determined to beat out his rival in the future. Knowing more about the opponent's CEO could only benefit them in the whole ordeal, so he couldn't help but keep observing Rufus so as to find out more about him.

Moreover, it seemed that there was also a rather complicated relationship between Rufus and Cassandra. Rumors spoke of them having stayed in Rome around the same time. Was it a coincidence?

To dig in deeper at these rumors, Arthur intentionally cozied up to Cloris, Cassandra's sister. He was certain it would make things easier for him to use her to get what he wanted.

"I…

I've been doing things for the student union, so I haven't found any time to contact my sister."

As she explained herself, Cloris stuttered a little bit; and there was an unnatural smile on her face, looking rather forced. Of course, Arthur didn't miss it as he simply hummed and said nothing more.

Did something happen between the two sisters? Why would Cloris react in such a way? Arthur's eyes darkened as he got lost deeper and deeper in thought.

At the same moment, Ivy appeared on the red carpet, arm in arm with Jill. The handsome man standing beside them was no other than Lionel.

Not wanting to draw any attention to her baby bump, Ivy dressed a little more casually than usual. With a big stylish coat on, she could hide her belly well so that no one would realize that she was pregnant.

Jill, on the other hand, dressed in a chic and stylish silver-striped black suit. The clothes she wore were prepared by Ivy and they didn't fail to make her appear younger and smarter. It truly pleased her.

Beside them, Lionel didn't look too happy. In fact, he had no interest in the charity auction at all, having been dragged along by his mother.

Of course, his appearance still drew lots of attention. Being a famous dandy rich guy in G City, he could never escape a little spotlight. During the event, he came with his mother and girlfriend in front of the whole public. Did it mean that Lionel and Ivy had already gotten the Tang family's approval? Were they getting married soon?

Many questions formed in the crowd's heads as the people began whispering and guessing. Everyone was just so curious that they could barely hold back as they wanted to walk up to the family and ask them about it right then and there.

Lionel and the two women sat down in the middle row seats. There were so many people around that they didn't notice Cassandra was also present.

On the other side, Cassandra had no idea that her husband and mother-in-law had also arrived with Lionel's mistress because she had been keeping her head down the whole time. Knowing that Cloris and Arthur were sitting not too far from her, she didn't want to look back.

Right at that moment, Michelle walked up on stage, making the whole hall grow quiet as they knew the auction was finally about to officially begin.

After giving a short speech, Michelle announced the rules of the auction, explaining that the money would be donated to the foundation of rare diseases.

Finally, the auction began. Exclusive haute-couture dresses were being auctioned off at great prices, piece by piece. All the guests were very excited as they raised good charity money with all the items.

At last, they came close to the end of the auction. With only one single piece left, an extravagant and beautiful dress was brought to the stage.

It seemed as though even Michelle was terribly excited to present it as she gave a huge introduction about the magnificent dress.

The traditional-style dress was designed by Michelle herself, as she gave the traditional wear a flare with some new and bold adjustments. The dress was dotted by Swarovski crystals, making it shine so brightly under the lights on the stage as it sparkled. It was every woman's dream.

Originally, the dress belonged to a princess but she had donated it for auctioning during the charity event. It was a truly meaningful gift that had been delivered from a very distant country to the stage. Many royal women wanted to own it but weren't even given a chance to have it.

It was a pleasant surprise to see that the dress was at such an event. Everybody was yearning for it in no time.

As a designer herself, Cassandra was well aware of the value and beauty of the dress. As soon as it appeared on stage, her eyes shone with excitement and her creative senses tingled. It was an utterly beautiful piece. No words could possibly capture its magic.

Without realizing it, her mouth had gone agape upon seeing the dress. It was no wonder that it was the last item to be auctioned off today.

For such a fine dress, having a reserve price of five hundred thousand was definitely rather low. As soon as Michelle announced the price, the crowd started buzzing as people began bidding against each other.

It was not long before the price went up to three million.

Releasing a quiet sigh, Cassandra simply accepted that the price was out of reach. It seemed that she couldn't have the dress after all.

Not wanting to rely on the Qin family, she refused to use their money. At the same time, she also didn't want to use up the Tang family's money. She was simply not that kind of person.

Three million was simply too high a price for her. It would cost her a few years' worth of salary, after all. To use that kind of money on a dress was way too extravagant for her.

"Three and a half million!"

Suddenly, a woman called out to her with a high and shaky voice, full of excitement.

When Cassandra recognized the voice, she immediately stunned. It was definitely Ivy!