A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 155

When Amanda finished, the audience roared with a thunderous applause.

She stood up, bowed to show her appreciation; and then her eyes scanned the crowd for Rufus. Finally, they settled on him and happiness reeked through her body.

Rufus noticed the way she looked at him. When he met her gaze, he promptly moved his eyes away.

But Amanda wasn't upset. Just one look which had lasted only for a few seconds filled her with contentment.

Nothing could spoil her mood today. The admiration she felt for him explained the extra piece which was not listed on the program. It was exclusively for Rufus.

When she gave Lionel the admission ticket, she also saved one for Rufus. Instead of giving it to him by herself, she handed it over to his assistant. In spite of this, she highly doubted he would show up. She vividly remembered what happened the last time—she had given him two tickets for the concert but instead of Rufus, an unknown man and woman showed up.

'But today he came!' her heart wanted to scream again and again. When she first spotted Rufus on a VIP seat, her mouth was agape with surprise.

Once the information finally sank in, she looked around and spotted Lionel. He was sitting with an old man who wore a stern look.

Out of excitement, she decided to continue with another piece soon after her half-time break.

Secretly, she hoped the piece would strike a chord in Rufus's heart. Her intention was to revive his memories. She wanted him to recollect their past and feel nostalgic.

A sly smile crept on her face when she realized this was their little secret. Nobody else in the audience had any idea about her intention. They presumed Amanda had played an extra piece as a bonus. Artists often rewarded their fans with an extra piece so nobody found this to be unusual.

Amanda continued to communicate with the audience using her music. It left everyone intoxicated.

No one could have guessed what would happen next.

When the second half ended, everyone stood up to applaud. Amanda once again bowed and showed her gratitude.

For the hundredth time, her eyes drifted and landed on Rufus. But this time, she didn't look away. In an emotional tone, she began speaking, "There was a time when I thought my music was only recognized overseas. Due to this, I pushed myself to make a mark there. But gradually I have come to learn that music has no boundary. Due to my Chinese ancestry, I find myself getting more and more drawn towards the music industry of China. After giving it a lot of thought, my studio and I have come up with a solution. We have decided to shift the focus from overseas to home. Yes guys, you heard me right! My new studio is going to be located here in G City!"

It took a few seconds for the audience to realize their ears weren't playing tricks on them. To confirm their doubts, they started whispering to one another. There was a part of them that still couldn't believe what they heard. They didn't understand why Amanda would choose G City for her future development.

Seeing their confusion, Amanda added, "I understand why you all look so surprised. You must be wondering why I picked G city out of all the places. You might want to know why I didn't choose Beijing which is the capital of culture. Also there is Shanghai which is the capital of prosperity. I completely get your concern and won't hesitate before coming clean to you people. To be honest, I admire the vitality of G City, but that's not the sole reason for shifting here. The truth is the person I care about is living in this city."

In her gentle voice, she went about and filled the audience with truth. There was something very vulnerable in her eyes.

She took a small break to compose herself and then went on, "I'm very concerned about him hence I wish to be closer to him. Every time I feel the pulse of G City, it is as if I'm feeling his heartbeat.

I don't mind if he treats me as a friend or a stranger, I've decided to settle in G City. I am not sure if my decision will have any impact on him but I definitely think it is worth a try."

The audience were once again taken aback by her statement. They couldn't believe she was pouring her true feelings before them. They sat there in complete silence. The earlier whispering stopped.

"After a lot of inquiries, I have concluded that we don't have a professional music school here in G City. Hence I've decided to build one which will be called 'Amanda Piano School'. The aim of this institute is to provide education for the ones who are talented in piano music. I wish we can succeed in building a good intellectual atmosphere in G City. Also, I expect support from you guys. I need it very much."

As she finished, Amanda was already flushed tomato red. This idea had been on her mind since a long time ago. Yet she didn't planned to announce it today. But when she found out Rufus was in the concert, she decided there was no need for any delay.

Even though everyone else was a little surprised, she truly believed that Rufus would understand her intention. When she expressed her feelings to him in front of so many people, her desire was to make him understand the extent of her devotion.

Out of curiosity, Amanda looked arounded and fixed her gaze on Rufus's direction. While she did this, pure emotions were depicted in her eyes. Horace who was sitting next to Lionel thought there was something offbeat about her behavior.

"Lionel, do you feel that Miss Ke seems to be looking at our direction very often?"

Horace asked Lionel in a low voice. There was suspicion in his tone. He wanted to confirm his doubts with Lionel.

Obviously, Lionel had observed this even before Horace pointed it out. He noticed that Amanda kept on fixating her gaze in their direction. He also suspected Rufus was the man she was interested in, but he had no idea about their history.

'Could it be that Rufus and Amanda know each other?

Rufus used to live overseas and Amanda grew up overseas. There might be some connection between them.

Moreover, Amanda mentioned the person she cares about is living here. Were they lovers before?' his sharp mind started to guess.

"Father, I don't think this is the right time to make a wild guess. She didn't say anything yet, so let's not jump to a conclusion," Lionel replied back.

Lionel was still in a sour mood and thinking about Rufus spoiled it further. The knowledge of Rufus's secretive relationship with Cassandra was eating him alive.

"I've already picked up a site for my music school and I've also selected the construction company. Now I would like to welcome the president of that company on stage in order to sign the contract with me!"

After Amanda finished, she gave a sign to the Miss Manners to hand her the contract. In a matter of seconds, they had the table on the stage.

The audience couldn't restrain their excitement. This news was completely unexpected and they started talking and whispering to each other.

When they came here, their sole purpose was to watch and enjoy the concert. No one would have expected to hear such a good news. And the fact it was announced by Amanda magnified their joy.

Now to make things even better, the signing of the contract would take place in front of them.

Amanda looked around the hall and once again fixated her gaze on Rufus.

"I would like to entrust the construction of Amanda Piano School to the best construction company of G City, the Tang Group!"

It was an explosive news and people roared with applause. In truth, Amanda had decided the construction company even before she announced her decision. Like all her other steps, this one was also a well-thought-out one.

After a while, the audience looked in Rufus's direction. Tang Group was an up-and-coming company recently. Everyone knew that Rufus was the president of Tang Group. In fact, he was more than just a president, he was the one who was in charge of Tang Group now. So they were well aware he would have to sign the contract. Expectantly, they turned to him.

Everyone was waiting for Rufus to get up. They were a little disturbed by the fact that he remained in his seat. His eyebrows were pulled together and doubts were etched in his eyes.

He didn't understand why Amanda had done this. If she wanted to make her future school and herself popular, there was no need for her to get him involved.

What surprised him more was that she didn't talk about the construction of this piano school with him in advance. Hence this news came to him all of a sudden and caught him completely off guard. He realized If he didn't go up to the stage, she would be humiliated.

But there was a part of him that stopped him from doing it. 'Would she misunderstand things if I sign the contract? Will she think I want to start things all over again?' he questioned himself apprehensively.

It suddenly became awkward. The audience stopped whispering and all eyes were on Rufus. The dreadful silence left him feeling a little frustrated.

Everyone started to think that Rufus didn't know how to appreciate favors. They just couldn't understand why he would humiliate Amanda in her own concert.

Horace, on the other hand, looked surprised when he heard the announcement from Amanda. Secretly, he was very pleased with it. He concluded that Rufus and Amanda had already made an agreement and this concert was only a way to make it official. But when he noticed Rufus's hesitancy in getting up, he started to think that maybe his guess was wrong. 'Is this an idea that Amanda conceived at the spur of the moment?' Horace wondered.

Amanda who earlier had a beaming face now felt embarrassed since Rufus didn't respond to her request.

When she bravely made this announcement, she was positive that Rufus would do her this favor for the old time's sake.

Besides, Rufus was now the president of Tang Group. He had to consider the benefit of the group. This music school was a project that would promise them a good name. Overall, it was a great opportunity for them to be in the public eye. She didn't think there would be any reason for him to reject it.

But Rufus still didn't move. No one knew what was going on in his mind.

Amanda stared at Rufus. Their past was like a constant wind which whooshed in front of her.

Ever since she met Rufus, she had immediately fallen for him. Even the small qualities like the fact he smiled less and talked less didn't bother her.

What she liked the best was that he always came straight to the point without the slightest hesitation. His words were usually short but it always conveyed what was required.

When he had dinner with Amanda's family, he talked a lot with her father, Charlie. They talked about everything from astronomy to geography, from humanity to military. She sat looking fascinated when she watched him speak.

Since that day Rufus had begun to occupy her mind. Piano and Rufus were the two things that she was most passionate about.

He didn't like to talk much so she would be the talker when they were together.

When they went outside, he was a little shy to hold her hand so she would be the one who did it without any hesitation.

Also, he was scared to make the first move to kiss her, so she became the one who initiated it.

She almost gave all of her girlhood passion to Rufus. Yet it didn't budge or change his stern look.

Even now she had prepared the stairs, the red carpet, for him to walk on, but he was reluctant.

No matter what she did, her hard work would fall short.

Now watching the audience, she felt embarrassed. Her expression became rigid. If she didn't get a signed contract, she wouldn't be able to continue with her plan. All her efforts would go in vain. Everything was prepared in such a short period of time because she was excited to have it done.

Time continued ticking away and everyone was still looking at Rufus.

Just when she was about to leave the stage, a voice spoke in the hall with an echo.

"Thank you Miss Ke. Thank you for your great kindness. Tang Group is honored to receive this proposal. We are looking forward to our cooperation!"