A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 154

Cassandra felt a dull pain stabbing at her back and waist. Sighing out loud, she could feel tight knots in her muscles. It was indeed not an easy job to manage a business.

"Cassandra?"

A familiar voice called out to her. She looked up and met a man's concerned gaze. He seemed very familiar, and it took Cassandra a moment to recognize him.

"Oh, Uncle… Uncle Jasper!"

She hesitated on using the honorific, unsure of how to address him. Calling him 'Uncle-In-Law' did not seem very appropriate as she hadn't married into Rufus's family yet. At the same time, 'Brother' would sound too intimate, and so she settled for 'Uncle'... The only problem was that Jasper looked too young to be addressed as such.

Sure enough, he gave her an awkward look upon her greeting. He signed inwardly, 'Am I that old?'

At this moment, a man in a suit strode to his direction and bowed before him respectfully.

"President Li, we didn't expect that you would be coming today. Is there anything I could do for you?"

Cassandra peeked at the name tag on his chest. It bore the title "Supervisor".

But her thoughts were elsewhere instantly. 'What? President Li?' Cassandra tried to hide her surprise upon hearing the man call Jasper 'President'.

"I have checked the reports. Good work,"

Jasper said to him, with calm and formal air. It was as if a different person was standing in front of her. She failed to find any trace of the laughter and playfulness he had on the night of New Year's Eve.

The man visibly brightened at the president's acknowledgement.

Then, Jasper turned to Cassandra and asked her softly, "Are you here to shop for anything?"

His voice pulled Cassandra from her thoughts and back to reality. "Oh, I'm here to pick up some supplies," she managed to reply.

Jasper waved a hand at the supervisor, and in an instant he was at his side, wearing a big smile.

"Give Miss Qin the cost price of all the products. Charge the remaining balance cost to my account,"

he instructed. The supervisor nodded repeatedly.

"Well, thank you so much for your help, President Li," Cassandra uttered with gratitude, stunned by his generosity.

Not once had it crossed Cassandra's mind that Jasper would be the president of this huge mall.

From what she knew, this mall was owned by the TY Group, an international business which had engaged in industries of all aspects. If that was the case…she turned to Jasper with wide eyes. That must mean that Jasper was the president of TY Group. Cassandra almost reeled from the realization.

She recalled how she addressed him as 'Uncle' earlier, as if she was related to him. Somehow, she felt awkward when she thought about how it might have seemed to others.

The two of them exchanged small talk and Cassandra made sure to address him as 'President Li, ' this time, even as she stumbled over her words. Jasper felt even more uncomfortable at the sudden show of formality. 'So Uncle sounds better...' he thought to himself.

The supervisor personally showed Cassandra around and enthusiastically gave recommendations about which brands were best for the designs she had in mind. In reality, Cassandra already had a clear picture in her head of what she wanted, but she hesitated. She had a limited budget, and she had to think well and make adjustments if necessary.

But with Jasper's help, all she needed were offered to her at an unbelievably low price. She silently thanked him for his graciousness. Now, she could get the things she needed without too much worrying.

Cassandra's steps were light as she walked out of the mall. It was a good day and she felt very pleasant as she bounced on her feet and wore a smile on her face. Today seemed like her lucky day. She had already crossed out two tasks from her list.

As she passed by the market, she decided to buy some chicken to stew with tea. It would be good to celebrate this day with Rufus.They could have tea together and she would tell him all about what happened in her day. She clutched the bags in her hand and hurried home in excitement.

The time ticked by and it was 9:00 in the evening, but there was still no sign of Rufus. Cassandra checked her phone. No messages. Her calls were also unanswered. She felt his absence put a damper on her spirit and her mind was racing a mile a minute thinking about where he could be.

It was very unusual. There had never been a time before when Rufus didn't call or send her a message if he couldn't come home.

In ordinary days, he lived in the home of Tangs, but he told her that he would come to visit on the evening of Lantern Festival. What could be going on?

Glancing at the clock, she stood up and put the dish she had cooked in a pot to keep it warm. Then, she slumped back on the couch and waited. The sound of the clock seemed very loud in the silence of the hall, and she felt the rhythmic sound lulling her. After some time, she drifted into sleep.

In her dreams, she was enveloped in the warmth of Rufus's arms.

Meanwhile, in the largest concert hall in G City, Amanda's performance was had paused into an interlude.

Children's voices filled the room as the choir sang on the stage. They had an almost ethereal sound as the melodies echoed through the chambers.

Horace and Rufus were seated in the front row. Turning to his side, Horace said, "We must sponsor Miss Ke's next concert. It would be a good step to enhance our cultural influence and visibility. It would be good to show our involvement in community matters, or people would start calling us as uncultured bumpkins."

He was evidently satisfied with his idea, and sank back to his seat.

Rufus said nothing in response, his face expressionless. He glanced at his watch and counted the seconds. He hadn't planned to come to this concert at all. However, Horace asked his driver to wait for him right outside the office building and insisted on him coming along.

Rufus sighed in his seat. He also had received an invitation to this concert, but going was the last thing on his mind.

There had been other invitations in the past. Amanda had sent him two tickets for her previous show through her assistant, but he gave them to Victor and Stella.

He had watched countless of her concerts. He remembered the crowd's faces when she played— mesmerized, and in absolute adoration. It was all too familiar, as he too, had once been one of them. He closed his eyes as memories drifted back to him.

Like all the others, he had been captivated by her beauty and her elegance. At one time, she had seemed to make his world brighter and more beautiful. But that happiness lasted a short time. He could still remember how distraught he was when she broke up with him at her father's request. All at once, his world turned gloomy, as if she took all the light with her. It took him a long time to move on. One day, he woke up to find every trace of her gone from his heart. That morning, he felt as if he had once again found freedom after being at a loss.

Now, he was told that Amanda wanted to go back the way things were before. The knowledge brought him no feelings at all. It was as if his past self was a stranger. He had no desire to be involved with her in any way, and he only did so last time to help her.

His thoughts drifted to Cassandra, bringing up the image of her drunk and in tears. A pang of pain clutched at his heart. He never wanted to see it happen again.

Lionel's voice broke through his musings as he replied to Horace.

"Rumor has it that the local government is planning to appoint a spokesperson for the scenic spot, and they have their eye on Miss Ke," he said.

A hint of a smile was pulling on Horace's face as he heard the words.

After the call with the investor, he had been digging for any information he could find about Amanda Ke.

He was more than satisfied about the things he read. She would be the perfect match for Rufus— young, beautiful, talented, and from a good family. If he could pair them up, marriage would naturally fall into place.

However, Rufus remained silent and unresponsive about this. He sat on his chair restlessly.

He had promised Cassandra that he would go to the Garden Villa to have dinner with her on this holiday. He glanced at his watch for the hundredth time that evening. Given the time, it would be close to midnight when he arrived home.

She must be anxious, waiting for him; and of all things, he had even left his phone at his office, so he had no way of reaching her.

He shifted in his seat, trying to find a more comfortable position as his mind wandered to her.

When the interlude finished, Amanda emerged in a golden dress. There was a beat of silence as the crowd held their breath at the sight of her. Everyone's eyes were fixed on her as she crossed the stage and sat down on the chair, her movements elegant and graceful.

She took a deep breath and started playing, her fingers leaping on the keys. The music echoed through the halls, playing a melody that was vibrant as spring.

It was as if she and the piano melded into one being, and the audience lost themselves in the wonderful sound.

On the contrary, Rufus's face fell into a hardened expression as he listened.

He recognized this music. He knew every note by heart. It was the piece that Amanda was playing when they met for the first time.

Charlie Ke, Amanda's father, was his mentor in the training camp, also the vice president of the Dark Night Group.

Charlie liked him. He even invited him once to his home for dinner after a training session.

Rufus remembered the day that moved his heart for the first time. As soon as he stepped into the hall, the warm, melodic music poured out and came to his ears.

Then there was Amanda, silhouetted by the light from the gigantic windows, her white dress flowing as she played the piano. He held his breath at the vision of her bathed in the brilliant sun.

Her eyes were fixed on the sheet music, and Rufus felt as if his heartbeat fell in time with the flutter of her eyelids. Long, fair, fingers danced on the black and white keys, and the beautiful sound filled every corner of the room.

In that dazzling light, she looked like a fairy that had descended to the world of mortals.

It was love at first sight.

He found out later that she was Charlie's daughter, and he was courteous and respectful to her at all times.

Unbeknownst to him, Amanda also felt the same way for him; and she found every possible excuse to go to the training camp to see him.

It was only a matter of time until their feelings reached the peak. They were each other's first love.

Rufus was in the darkest days of his life at that time. His mother was lying in the hospital in vegetative states, wasting away. He burned the memory of her in her deathbed, vowing that one day he would return to the Tang Group to get revenge. Horace would suffer the same agony they felt.

His feelings for Amanda ran deep, but his inexperience had gotten the better of him. Despite being one of the best students, he was clueless when it came to matters of love.

Other men would woo women with romantic gestures, flowers, and gifts, but Rufus seemed to have no clue of any of these. And despite favoring him as a student, Charlie was against their relationship.

In Charlie's eyes, Rufus was no doubt among the most talented of his students, but him being his son-in-law was an entirely different matter. He was young, and had nothing to his name.

He came between them and forced her daughter to leave Rufus.

Their love came to a tragic end; and Rufus found himself alone with his own despair.

Feelings of the past came back to him. The day Amanda left, he vowed to do everything he can to be successful. Amanda would regret not choosing him, and Charlie, for tearing them apart.

Now, he had stayed true to a part of that promise. He was at the top, but he found himself unable to recall the pain and the hatred that came with thoughts of her. It seemed as if everything had been wiped away.

He didn't care in the slightest whether she regretted or not. It did not matter to him any more. He had carved out his career and built up his name. Later on, he found that he no longer felt pain at the sound of her name; and his memories of her grew dimmer and dimmer each passing day.

His first love had ended, and it had stayed buried in a past that had gone by without a trace.