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.

and working in the marketing department of Tang Group. They might not be in the same division, but at least now

Stella became good friends in only a matter of days. Stella was active and lively, while Cassandra was calm and distant. Their personalities were

passed, and Rufus still

each other at a cafe. The inviting

troubling her friend. Cassandra seemed to

surfaced on her pretty face. She had been thinking about Rufus lately. She missed him dearly.

he come back to G City yet? It had been so many days now.

you have a boyfriend? You look so lost. Do you

eyebrows at Cassandra. Her friend was so aloof. She never talked about her personal life. They had been hanging out a lot in the last few days, but they merely swapped stories of their childhood and reminisced on old times. The subject of their personal affairs hadn't

just thinking about my work,"

However, the demure shake of her head and the

tell Stella about her marriage. She had made an agreement with Lionel before she started working at Tang Group to keep

haven't been back for long, so it makes sense you don't have a boyfriend. Neither do I. You know

mug of coffee in front of her. She took a sip and

president she was referring

When would

sounded incredibly desperate to her own ears. And how would Stella even know

his secretary. But I'm friends with his assistant. Do you need

to be laughing at her, as if she had seen

none of my business," Cassandra started, and then paused. "All right,

hurriedly changed the subject in an attempt to hide her feelings. Her eyes shifted down to look at her watch. Immediately, she shot

up with Cassandra, wearing a guileful smile on

a piece of cake for you to get the man. Better win him over quickly.

words only embarrassed Cassandra further. She flushed a bright shade of red. Her wanting to win

as they returned to the office building, they were informed that an emergency meeting

of them had any idea what the meeting was about, but they still went back to their workplaces and prepared for it.

Inside the Conference Room

saw that almost everyone was seated when she walked into the meeting room. She moved to her seat, her arms loaded with various files. The moment she sat down, her eyes met