A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 119

The woman had bushy eyebrows and pink, plump lips. Her raven black hair cascaded down her shoulders. With her hands, she was stroking a Persian cat.

The cat had white luscious fur and a pair of large, clear odd eyes—one yellow; the other, blue. It purred as it curled on the woman's knees.

The woman looked at Cassandra with indifferent eyes, then stood up and walked to the stairs. Meanwhile, a middle-aged woman wearing a pair of glasses was coming down the winding staircase.

She was the wife of Mr. Gary Zheng, Whitney Qiu.

Whitney Qiu was somewhere in her forties. She had a very fair complexion. She was living proof that a comfortable life tended to make one age well.

Knowing that this must be the woman she was looking for, Cassandra immediately approached to introduce herself.

"Mrs. Zheng, nice to meet you. I'm Cassandra Qin, the eldest daughter of Vernon Qin,"

she said, beaming. She was doing a great job hiding her nerves. For some reason, she felt odd being in the castle.

"I know who you are. Mr. Li has told me that you were coming. It was clever to have him put a good word for you. Otherwise, I would not even consider seeing you,"

Whitney Qiu replied. Cassandra was confused. 'Who's Mr. Li?' she thought. It took her a second to realize that Mr. Li must be the mediator Rufus hired.

'This mediator must be very reputable to have this kind of influence, ' she thought.

Whitney looked down at Cassandra from the second step of the stairway. She had a way of making people feel so severely inadequate.

Coming to her senses, Cassandra recollected herself and managed a smile.

"Mrs. Zheng, has Mr. Li told you about the current situation of Qin Group? Right now, I am..."

She gestured Cassandra to stop before she could finish talking.

"Hold on. I do not want to hear about the shares my husband left. I assigned someone else to handle it. I am a woman who is not interested in business,"

she imposed. This made Cassandra feel very disappointed. Deep inside, she knew that Whitney Qiu only refused to cooperate because she was aware of the current situation of the company.

Still, a part of her did not want to believe that she came all the way to Norway for nothing.

"With all due respect, Mrs. Zheng, you seem to have misunderstood. I came to tell you news about my family, not really the company. It has been a while since we last met, I almost feel like I should call you 'Auntie'. Would it be okay for me to talk to you about my family, Auntie Whitney?"

Cassandra said sweetly. She decided to change her approach to address Whitney's aversion.

True enough, Whitney's expression softened.

'This girl is very smart. Smarter than her father!' she thought.

Mr. Gary Zheng, who once built the business with Vernon, was one of the co-founders of Qin Group. Unfortunately, he passed away suddenly because of heart disease. After his demise, Whitney and their daughter immigrated to Norway.

Since then, nobody knew what had happened to them. Of course, this was intentional from her end. She did not want to get involved in any relationship at her hometown. She also hired TY Group to manage her assets. Business dealings were not something she wanted to dabble in. If Jasper Li did not ask her to meet Cassandra, she would not have accepted the visit.

She still remembered Cassandra as the five-year-old girl who used to be playmates with her daughter, Courtney. They were the same age.

Twenty years ago, back when she was young, her daughter was happy and her husband was still alive...

Whitney felt her eyes moisten with memories of the past suddenly coming to her.

It was just too beautiful, it made her sad to remember and realize that it was now all gone.

Cassandra's one word, "Auntie", brought back lots of memories.

After tiding up her mood, Whitney Qiu stepped down from the stairs and sat on the couch. She poured some tea into the fancy tea cups on the table.

"Have a seat, Cassandra," she offered.

Taking notice of her posture, Cassandra could not help but admire her grace and sophistication. 'This is a true lady. She still remains elegant at her age, ' she thought.

Cassandra sat opposite to her and enjoyed the tea as she stroked the golden teacup. She was thinking about how to start their conversation.

"I heard that you are a designer now?"

Whitney started. She did not seem indifferent to her anymore.

"Yes, auntie. I'm the designer for the Tang Group now," she replied, hiding the astonishment that it was Whitney Qiu who started the conversation. Her eyes were getting brighter.

"Oh. If you're with the Tang Group, why are you still trying to save the Qin Group? With your family's holdings, your family would still benefit a lot from the acquisition,"

Whitney asked, puzzled in her insightful eyes.

"Auntie, I'm not really doing this for the money. I'm saving the company because it is my father's dream. He works for this his whole life. He started this company when he was young. He had his share of successes and failures. This company is the product of everything that he has worked for. Right now, he is no longer capable of taking care of it the way he did before, but I am. As his daughter, I am determined to do everything I can to have it remain the same until he gets out of jail,"

Cassandra shared, her eyes glowing with sincerity.

Whitney Qiu was deeply moved.

She recalled the days when her husband was young and full of life. He and Vernon were good partners, and he had invested in the Qin Group.

But now, times had changed. Qin Group had been in the red for years. Her shares did not have much value. The only thing that kept her from selling it was the fact that it was something that her husband left for their daughter.

Whitney Qiu was a successful investor. She believed that it was important not to put all her eggs in one basket. This mentality made her wealthy and never needed to worry about money.

"Your love and devotion for your father is admirable. He is very lucky to have you as his daughter,"

she said, gently. This show of affection was not something Cassandra was accustomed to. It made her feel a bit calm and comfortable.

"Auntie, was it Courtney who went upstairs just now? She seems to really love her cat. It looks very well cared for, too,"

Cassandra remarked. A part of her felt curious about Courtney, especially when she shot her a very indifferent gaze.

She looked so aloof for her age, even more than her mother did.

'I am the daughter of her father's boss, and yet she looked at me with so much contempt. How odd, ' Cassandra thought.

"I asked a local to buy this cat from a famous cattery. It shares the bloodline as the Norwegian Princess. They also share a resemblance,"

Whitney stated. She was more relaxed now and seemed to genuinely enjoy the conversation with Cassandra.

People always liked smart girls. Beauty and elegance were great bonuses.

Whitney was smart but chose to distance herself from people. Nevertheless, she began to feel at ease with Cassandra because of the memories she brought with her.

"In my memory, Courtney didn't like furry animals,"

Cassandra recalled. Her memories were a blur, faint and vague.

Most of them were from the small town where she grew up in. But she said this naturally.

'Strange. Why do I know what Courtney doesn't like? I don't remember her ever saying this to me. Did someone else say it?' she said, perplexed at her sudden recollection. She barely had memories of Courtney. How could she suddenly remember her very specific preference?

"She began to like cats after..."

the lady began, but could not seem to complete her story. She suddenly turned very desolate.

Occupied with her own thoughts, Cassandra failed to notice the sudden change in Whitney Qin's mood.

"Mrs. Zheng, dinner is ready. Will your guest stay for dinner?"

the butler asked politely.

"Yes, I will have dinner with Cassandra. Please bring Courtney's dinner up to her chamber,"

Whitney said as she stood up. Then, she turned to Cassandra, "Try the food my cook prepared. He used to cook for the Royal Family and I spent an arm and a leg on hiring him."

Cassandra was astonished. 'A chef for the Royal Family?

What is he doing here at dinner time? Shouldn't he be cooking for them?' she thought.

Finally piecing the information together, Cassandra began to notice clues that point to royalty in the Qiu's castle-like mansion. With all the decor and paintings on the wall, the place would pass as a movie set.

'This is interesting. Auntie Whitney seems to be a fan of the Royal Family!' Cassandra was truly amazed.