A Graduation Gift novel Chapter 172

Rufus fixed his eyes on the figures behind the curtain. He couldn't make anything out from the vague shadows beneath the cloth.

He could do nothing but guess what they could be doing. As a man who wanted complete control over things, he hated not knowing what was happening inside the room.

As he was restlessly trying to peek past the curtain, his cellphone rang. Victor's name popped up on the screen. "What is it?" Rufus asked.

"Mr. Luo, Mr. Tang was just sent to the hospital. He had an asthma attack," Victor said anxiously.

There was static and noise over Victor's end, and Rufus could hear Jill's worried voice in the background.

"Shit. Okay. I'll be there in a bit. Have someone here to watch over Cassandra. I'll text you the location," Rufus said in an upset voice. It had been an awful day.

Rufus threw his cigarette on the ground and extinguished it with his foot fiercely. He glanced back at the window again, but the light had already beem turned off.

His eyes darkened just as his jaw started to clench. Rufus gripped his phone and quickly texted Victor the location before shoving it back into his pocket. Then he rushed towards the hospital.

Once he reached the hospital, most of the Tang family members were seen waiting outside the emergency room.

Jill was sitting by the bench, trying her hardest to wipe her tears away. Ivy was doting on her, patting her on the back to calm her down. Lionel was pacing the hallway, struggling to keep himself steady.

Rufus approached the family and walked up to Lionel. When their eyes met, Lionel stopped pacing and kept himself still.

"What happened? How is father?"

Rufus's face now looked solemnly grim, which, Lionel falsely thought, was due to his worry for Horace.

"Mother and father were fighting, and that was what triggered the attack," Lionel answered quickly.

While he spoke, his peripheral vision glanced at Jill, who couldn't stop her tears from streaming down.

Rufus held a cold expression and looked towards the direction. Jill seemed to notice the gaze, so she raised her head and met Rufus's eyes.

She hated how he looked at her. She stood up quickly, eyes all red and puffy.

"What are you giving me that look for? Don't think that you're not to blame for this! We wouldn't even be fighting if it weren't for you! It was all your fault! Your father is now in an emergency condition because of you!" the woman yelled hysterically.

Jill heaved, suddenly realizing how exhausted she was from crying and worrying. She gasped for air to catch her breath before plopping back down on the bench. She couldn't help but let the tears fall once again. Ivy, worried that the situation would worsen, immediately stood in front of her and let Jill cry without Rufus's antagonizing gaze.

Rufus sneered angrily, 'This is so ridiculous! Horace is an idiot for choosing her over my mom. She's rude and bland.'

The emergency room suddenly opened. Horace was lying on the emergency bed as the nurses pushed him out through the door. Once Jill saw Horace, she quickly threw herself over to the bed and wailed, "Horace! Please don't do that again! How can Lionel and I live without you? No one would ever be able to protect us! Tang Group will be taken away quickly without you! We're just as good as dead without you!"

Lionel tried to interrupt his mother to tell her to stop. She was making a scene and everyone could hear her.

"Mom, please. People are watching."

Jill suddenly realized how inappropriate she was and quickly raised herself up to stand beside the bed. She turned her eyes to the doctor and nurses around who shot her annoyed glances, and quickly wiped her tears away.

"Doctor, how is my father?"

Rufus asked in spite of the embarrassing moment.

"He is better now. Asthma is a chronic disease, and it can recur easily. For now, he has to rest well. He'll have to stay as an in-patient at the ward for a few more days, just so we can monitor him. He can only be discharged once he's stable enough."

The doctor seemed to be relieved to hear a normal inquiry other than Jill's ballistic speech. He knew about the Tang family because they shared a close relationship with Jenks Tong, who was the director of the hospital. And given that they were a prestigious family he expected them to be eloquent people. He bit his tongue to say nothing harsh so he wouldn't embarrass himself, the family, or his superior.

It did make him wonder, though, why a woman like Jill would be part of the Tang family. Moreover, she was the matriarch! It was incredible!

The doctor heard the other son speak from beside the mother.

"Will father be fine?" he limply asked. "Nothing can happen to him since the CEO of Tang Group is still Rufus!"

'What a family... Alas...' the doctor sighed inwardly.

He shook his head as he left the troublesome family, leaving the nurses to handle the patient.

After Horace was transferred to the hospital ward, Rufus stood beside his bed and fixed his gaze at his own father who was sleeping peacefully.

Horace was already an old man, so different from his former self ten years ago. Rufus could still see his thriving spirits when he had the unplanned encounter at the entrance of Tang Group back then.

Horace had aged so much since then. His eyes had wrinkles around them and his hair had gone white. His cheeks had begun to sag. Despite his appearance, however, Rufus knew that the same free-spirited man was still there somewhere, proud to lead the new Tang Group. Even if he spent the recent year at home, he refused to let go of his position as the Chairman of the Board.

His face was incredibly pale. On the backside of his wrist an IV sat protruding into his vein, and an oxygen mask covered his nose and mouth. He almost looked like a corpse in Rufus's eyes; and Rufus would have believed that he was dead if it weren't for the beeping from the Electrocardiograph Machine that measured his heart rate, by the bedside.

'Horace Tang, you are so weak now! You can't even match up against me! There's no point in beating an old dying man!' Rufus exclaimed inwardly.

He then walked out, and asked a servant from Tang family who was waiting outside the room, "What happened to my father and Jill? Tell me everything."

Rufus folded his arms across his chest, eyes expectant.

The servant was obviously frightened by what had happened. With a trembling voice, he started to describe to Rufus what he knew of…

After the rain finally subsided at night, Jill rushed out shopping with Ivy. She bought plenty of clothes and jewelry. But it seemed that the experience wasn't delightful, as the moment she came back, Jill threw the packages of luxurious items onto the couch and started to complain, "Mrs. Zhuang really thinks she's someone now. Dawn Star Group isn't even her company! How can she put on airs like that? She's just such an arrogant bitch!"

She grumbled under her breath as she crossed her legs and arms in front of her.

"Why? What is it? What are you on about again?"

Horace glanced over at Jill.

"Ivy and I met her at the mall. She looked so proud of herself as if she were the head of Dawn Star Group. She had that smug look about her that was just so annoying! You would've hated it if you saw it, too! It's nothing more than a few lucky projects, and she thinks that the Dawn Star Group is taking over the industry! Damn her!"

Jill was frustrated. A servant in the room approached her and offered her some juice to quench her dry, screaming throat, but she narrowed her eyes at the servant impatiently.

"No. Are you an idiot? Can't you tell that I'm not in the mood for your damn juice! So fucking annoying!" Jill waved her hand angrily, shooing the servant away.

Unbeknownst to the servant, Jill's hand knocked the glass of juice out of the her grasp. The glass shattered onto the floor, with juice spilling all over.

"Jill Xie, that's enough. Don't vent your anger at someone else," Horace chided as he looked at her.

The young servant was frightened by the woman's wrath. She quickly knelt down to pick up the pieces of broken glass.

"What do you mean? Don't we pay her to do this? What's wrong with cleaning the fucking floor! What's so wrong about me venting my anger! It helps me calm down!" Jill screamed.

Her face was flushed with anger.

"You're being unreasonable and selfish, Jill," Horace huffed angrily.

He couldn't bear the temper of his wife anymore and walked away. It wasn't going to yield anything to argue with an insane old woman.

After he had only taken a couple of steps, Horace seemed to remember something. Turning to the butler, he said, "Give this girl a bonus for this month, as my apology for having to put up with such a scornful woman."

The servant turned to look over her shoulder and gave a small smile. She was so grateful for Horace as she heard his words.

Jill's eyes flared. "Scornful? How dare you! I am the matriarch of this family! How can servants deserve apologies from the matriarch of Tang family! This is absurd!" Jill screamed.

"Horace Tang! What have I done that made you dislike me so much? I haven't done anything wrong! This damn servant couldn't even hold a glass properly! I'm being generous enough by not even deducting the damn glass to her salary! And you! You'd give her more money by destroying our things? You're being ridiculous!"

Jill stormed towards Horace's frame who had his back turned to her. Something snapped in Horace's head, and he spat at Jill, "I have given you the power to manage Tang family. How many servants have you fired within the few years with such a privilege? You think firing a hundred employees is ethical? Don't you think that's a little too much? You are scornful, Jill. None of the employees could say anything good about you when I went to talk to them. Don't you think you should reflect on your actions? Since the day I allowed you into this family, you have ruined our connections to the family's relatives and peers. Have you ever heard me complain?"

Horace turned, face contorted irritably as he coughed to gather his breath.

Jill scoffed, "Wow. I'm actually surprised that you're mad at me now. It all makes sense! You couldn't have gotten mad at me before because you needed money from my family. My money's the only thing that's important to you, isn't it? But now that the Xie family is not as well-off as it was, you begin to pick on me. You have started to confront and defy me. If you really don't like me, then you should have just married Hellen! Divorce me and marry her instead! Then you can kick me and Lionel out of the family and live your happy life with Hellen and Rufus. I can promise you, that everything in this family will go according to your wish!"

Jill turned even more agitated and was speaking outrageously. She even mentioned Hellen Luo, Rufus's mother, whose name had remained forgotten for years.

"Hellen has passed away. How dare you... You are insufferable! How dare you even mention her! If she were here, she would definitely be much better than you ever will be!"

His chest was heaving as he angrily pointed at Jill. He grabbed his chest with his other hand as he started to cough harder.

"It's a shame then that the bitch is dead. I just wish that her son had died along with her. After leaving for so long, he just comes back one day to Tang Family? You're blind, Horace! That damn child is after something! I have devoted myself to Tang family for years, but now my worth is not even as much as a dead person. I might as well be dead, too!"

As she threw her temper, Jill pretended that she was going to bang her head against the wall. Ivy, who had kept quiet throughout their quarrel, hurried to pull Jill back and console her.

However, before he could do anything about it, Horace collapsed to the ground with a hand over his chest.