A Graduation Gift

Cassandra's mind went blank. She blinked in confusion at the sudden hug. The young woman let go of her, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Don't you remember me? I'm Stella Mu. We went to high school together, remember?"

The woman's tone rose as she explained upon seeing Cassandra's bewildered expression.

Cassandra frowned and racked her brain for the name. Soon, a girl with pigtails who wore black-rimmed glasses materialized in her mind. Whenever that little girl grinned, her braces made an appearance.

"You are Stella Mu?"

Cassandra asked with hesitation. This young lady standing in front of her was so beautiful that it was hard to connect her to the girl with braces from her memory.

Stella beamed at her words, thrilled to hear that her friend remembered her. She reached out and touched Cassandra's hand ecstatically.

"Yeah, I'm Stella! Glad you remembered me! I didn't expect to meet you here at Tang Group. Gosh, we haven't seen each other for years. I haven't seen you since we graduated from high school. Where have you been?"

Stella talked on and on as if she never planned to stop. Cassandra realized that she hadn't changed a bit. Her friend was still as lively and talkative as before.

She was still surprised at meeting a childhood friend. "I went to Rome to study. Came back not so long ago. You are so beautiful, Stella."

Cassandra smiled at Stella, sighing pleasantly at the change in her friend.

"Oh," Stella blushed. "of course, you went abroad! I should have guessed. Why didn't you keep in touch? Have I ever told you that you were my idol in high school? You were so beautiful and scored so well in exams. I admired and envied you."

Stella's excitement at meeting an acquaintance from years ago still hadn't dimmed. She wanted to catch up on everything they had been up to in the past several years.

Cassandra was a bit embarrassed. She gave Stella a smile and lowered her head. Time is cruel and strange. She had gotten engaged that year when she finished high school. Then, she went to Rome after getting married, without telling anyone.

Time in Rome had seemed to slow down. Her days were not as smooth as she had hoped for. She had endured a lot of loneliness in the foreign land. But eventually, she had made friends, and now she had left her social circle in the country behind.

Stella Mu was the first friend she had met after coming back to G City.

a long time. Cassandra learned that Stella was a fresh graduate and working in the marketing department of Tang Group. They might not be in the same division, but at least now they were

while Cassandra was calm and distant. Their personalities were in stark contrast to each other. However, it did not hinder them

Rufus still

cafe. The inviting smell of coffee lingered in

in a low voice. She wondered what was troubling her friend. Cassandra seemed to be

hearing Stella. A worried expression surfaced on her pretty face.

come back to G City yet? It

look so

hanging out a lot in the last few days, but they merely swapped stories of their childhood and reminisced on

just thinking about my

shake of her head and the guilty tone in her voice were

made an agreement with Lionel before she started working

back for long, so it makes sense you don't have a boyfriend. Neither do

front of her. She took a sip

new president she was

When would he be

sounded incredibly desperate to her own ears. And how would Stella even know when he would be back?

I'm friends with his assistant. Do you

be laughing

Cassandra started, and then paused. "All right, time to go back to work. We should

subject in an attempt to hide her feelings. Her eyes shifted down to look at her watch. Immediately, she shot up from her seat and walked out of the coffee shop without waiting to see

her seat and caught up with Cassandra, wearing a guileful smile on her face.

Cassandra! You know you are beautiful. It would be a piece of cake for you to get the man. Better

Her wanting to win Rufus over was a ridiculous idea. Only Stella would consider

as they returned to the office building, they were informed that an emergency meeting was about to be held

them had any idea what the meeting was about, but they still went

Inside the Conference Room

the meeting room. She moved to her seat, her arms loaded with various files. The moment she