A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 170

Cassandra didn't respond. She was a bit hesitant as she held the phone by her ear. As soon as she recalled Dylon claiming that she was his girlfriend in front of the media, Cassandra couldn't help but feel iffy. She didn't know how to face him anymore.

"Cassandra, are you mad at me?"

Dylon asked in a careful tone. He was a smart man and he could sense Cassandra's hesitance. When Cassandra didn't respond to him, he started to worry that she might be mad at him for what he did the other day.

"Uh, no. Uh, I'm just in the middle of something..."

Cassandra didn't want to hurt Dylon's feelings. She just made up an excuse so she wouldn't have to talk to him any further.

After a few more inconsequential exchanges, Cassandra hung up the call. Her head was in such a chaotic mess right now that she didn't know what to do. Dylon was a very good friend of hers and she didn't want to hurt him at all but she really didn't know how to remain friends after what happened the other day.

It was ridiculous that Dylon would claim they were together when they clearly weren't. Meanwhile, Rufus, who was actually in a relationship with her, had lied to her about receiving a call from another woman.

That was pretty ironic.

Just as Cassandra was getting lost in her own thoughts, Lyndsy's call came in and she was straightforward as usual.

"Cassandra, Dylon told me that he thought you might be angry with him. I'm very sorry, it's all my fault. He did that for me because I needed help. How about as an apology, I treat you two to dinner tonight? It can also be Dylon's farewell dinner. Don't worry, there won't be any journalists tonight so they can't interrupt us. We can go to a private club where only VIPs can get in, okay? How does that sound?"

Lyndsy had never been one to beat around the bush especially with people who were close to her—she always went straight to the point. Since she considered Cassandra and Dylon to be her friends, she wanted to make sure everything was okay between the two. Cassandra didn't know what to feel.

She knew Lyndsy didn't want to cause any trouble and just wanted to have dinner with them. And in fact, Dylon didn't exactly do anything wrong. It was just that Cassandra had felt weird around him after what he had said the other day and it had nothing to do with Lyndsy.

"Fine, give me the address and I'll be there," Cassandra agreed with a silent sigh.

Meanwhile, Jasper and Rufus were sitting face-to-face inside a box in the high-end private club.

In front of them, a man was performing a tea ceremony on the table. The faint and fresh scent of the tea filled the whole room.

After finishing the tea ceremony, the man silently nodded to them and left the room, leaving Jasper and Rufus alone so they could discuss important things.

"The Dawn Star Group is getting better and better everyday. But I don't think that they are willing to be bought. Arthur just wouldn't agree. He's pretty competitive,"

Jasper said as he picked up his cup of tea to take a sip. The tea not only smelled great but it also tasted amazing.

"I have never considered buying the Dawn Star Group,"

Rufus answered, holding his cup in one hand and slowly spinning it as the tea inside made small waves. Something flashed in his eyes but it was too quick that Jasper didn't have enough time to figure out what it meant. Rufus's face was unreadable.

"What? You don't plan to buy the Dawn Star Group? Then why did you ask me to invest a huge amount of money in them?"

Jasper was startled so much that he almost dropped his cup of tea. The look on his face was a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

For the longest time, Jasper always knew what Rufus was going to do. He knew him so well. Rufus was a force to be reckoned with in the industry—he saw things in a unique way which made him the capable and successful man he was today. That was why he could make the TY Group a big name. Besides, their businesses were promising too and they were just growing continually.

Given that, Jasper was pretty sure that he had a good idea what Rufus wanted to do. He thought that Rufus invested so much money in the Dawn Star Group so he could slowly infiltrate it and eventually, acquire it. By the end, he would make it a part of the Tang Group.

But now, Rufus had told him that he didn't even consider buying the Dawn Star Group? What the hell? How did that happen? What was Rufus' plan then? Why did he ask him to invest so much money then?

"We invested the money and we gained the profit. That's enough. Don't ask any more questions,"

Rufus responded simply. It was clear that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. He drank the last sip of his tea. His face remained stoic.

"How can I not ask any more questions? Rufus, I'm your uncle-in-law for God's sake and the CEO of the TY Group. I think I deserve to know your plans."

Rufus has always been the type of man to be independent. He always made decisions on his own but at the same time, he also knew his limits. He wouldn't ever ignore any choice that could make his business prosper. Rufus always told Jasper what his plans were and listened to whatever input he had. But this time, he didn't. Jasper had assumed that Rufus was going to buy the Dawn Star Group but now that Rufus had told him that that wasn't his plan and he wasn't willing to tell him more. Jasper didn't know what to make of Rufus and all this.

The Dawn Star Group was the Tang Group's biggest rival in G City. If they bought Dawn Star Group then Tang Group wouldn't have competition anymore. And wasn't that what Rufus wanted?

"Then I think you should go back now,"

Rufus said nonchalantly. He really didn't want to give away too much because he knew that if Jasper and Michelle found out that he had never really given up on his revenge plan, they would surely try to stop him. Rufus didn't want that to happen so he had to keep his plan a secret.

"You brat. Do you really want to get rid of me this soon?"

Jasper said plaintively.

Ever since Rufus had returned to G City, Michelle had tagged along with him following his every step, leaving Jasper alone in another country to take care of the business. It was a rare chance for him to be back in the G City and he couldn't believe Rufus was already asking him to leave. He didn't want to go back right away without Michelle.

"By the way, recently, many companies and groups under the Dark Night Group were attacked by some unknown business groups. Their method is the same. I'm a bit worried that something might happen to the Dark Night Group,"

Rufus said with a slight frown on his face. He couldn't help but worry as he thought of all the things that happened to the members of the Dark Night Group all over the world. He was afraid something big was going to happen.

"Yeah, I heard about that too but they haven't found out who's behind all of it,"

Jasper said in a serious tone. Being attacked by people you didn't know was no joke.

"That's the reason why I asked you to fly back and look after our business. I can sleep better at night if I know you're there because that way, if anything happens, we can deal with it right away,"

Rufus said casually as he discreetly observed the look on Jasper's face. Jasper, on the other hand, was still busy figuring out who would attack the Dark Night Group.

"But who the hell would be bold enough to go against the Dark Night Group? If it only happened once or twice, I wouldn't be surprised. But this is getting serious now because over half the members were attacked!"

Jasper mumbled, eye brows knitted in a frown. He rested his chin on his palm as he racked his brain.

Rufus remained silent as he drank his tea.

The Dark Night Group was indeed the biggest and most powerful group in this industry. Though there were some new companies rising, they never posed a threat to the Dark Night Group. It had nothing to be afraid of after all.

This had never happened before and what made them even more worried was that they couldn't figure out who was behind all of this.

But... If anyone was stupid and bold enough to go against the TY Group, then Rufus would surely make them pay! He would never allow this to happen.

Something cold flashed through Rufus's eyes but it quickly disappeared. He downed the rest of the tea in his cup in one gulp.

Meanwhile Dylon, Lyndsy, and Cassandra arrived at the private club. The exterior of the club looked nothing special. But stepping inside, Cassandra could tell as a designer herself that it was exquisitely decorated.

"Don't worry, Cassandra. Only people who have VIP cards can get in here. No one will interrupt us tonight!"

Lyndsy winked at Cassandra, assuring her again. Then she led Dylon and Cassandra as they made their way through the club—she was obviously a regular here.

"I have already booked a private box. No. 7,"

Lyndsy said to a waiter and pointed to the direction of their private box. The waiter immediately nodded and guided them to it right away.

Cassandra followed behind Lyndsy. But she didn't notice the floor was still a bit wet because a cleaner just wiped the floor and it hadn't fully dried down yet. She lost her balance and slipped.

"Watch out!"

Dylon was quick to react. He reached out and grabbed Cassandra by her waist so she wouldn't fall. In order to steady themselves, he pulled her into his arms, letting her rest against his chest.

Everything happened so fast that Cassandra didn't realized exactly what was happening—she remained frozen in Dylon's arms for a good few moments.

Right on cue, Rufus walked out with Jasper trailing behind him. As soon as he stepped out, he saw Cassandra in Dylon's arms.

At this moment, Cassandra and Dylon really did look like they were hugging each other, very intimately.

Dylon lowered his gaze to look at Cassandra. He had a soft look in his eyes while Cassandra looked up to him helplessly.

"Cassandra, be careful,"

Dylon warned Cassandra who was still a bit shaken from nearly falling. He had a light and soft smile on his lips which calmed Cassandra. They untangled themselves right away. Cassandra's face was a bit red as she was a bit embarrassed.

"Thank you,"

Cassandra said in a grateful tone. If it weren't for Dylon, she would surely have hurt herself because of her carelessness. But when she turned her head to look ahead, her eyes were met with a pair of eyes that she was extremely familiar with.

She had seen these eyes countless times by now. But never in a million years were they this cold and angry.

It seemed that there was a storm silently raging in those eyes. Cassandra could tell how angry, sad, and most importantly, disappointed he was with her.

"Well, what a nice coincidence,"

Jasper mumbled. He too saw the whole scene between Dylon and Cassandra and how they seemed so intimate. He could tell how angry Rufus was right now.

Last time, they saw Cassandra leave Dylon's apartment and now, here they were again, hugging. This would be too much of a coincidence now.

This was getting serious. Rufus must be furious. And Jasper was worried that Rufus might do something that he would regret later.

Cassandra suddenly felt numb as she could tell that Rufus must have misunderstood the situation based on the look on his face.

"Oh! Mr. Luo, fancy seeing you here! What a coincidence!"

Lyndsy, who saw Rufus, walked up and greeted him with a smile on her face.

But Rufus didn't say anything back to Lyndsy. He just ignored her and walked straightly past her to stand in front of Cassandra. He lowered his head and stared at her with angry eyes. His jaw tightened. Rufus was tense, as if he was trying to contain his emotions.

"Are you really that desperate to throw yourself into another man's arms the second I leave?"

Rufus's tone was icy cold and it pierced through Cassandra's heart.