A Graduation Gift

The woman had bushy eyebrows and pink, plump lips. Her raven black hair cascaded down her shoulders. With her hands, she was stroking a Persian cat.

The cat had white luscious fur and a pair of large, clear odd eyes—one yellow; the other, blue. It purred as it curled on the woman's knees.

The woman looked at Cassandra with indifferent eyes, then stood up and walked to the stairs. Meanwhile, a middle-aged woman wearing a pair of glasses was coming down the winding staircase.

She was the wife of Mr. Gary Zheng, Whitney Qiu.

Whitney Qiu was somewhere in her forties. She had a very fair complexion. She was living proof that a comfortable life tended to make one age well.

Knowing that this must be the woman she was looking for, Cassandra immediately approached to introduce herself.

"Mrs. Zheng, nice to meet you. I'm Cassandra Qin, the eldest daughter of Vernon Qin,"

she said, beaming. She was doing a great job hiding her nerves. For some reason, she felt odd being in the castle.

"I know who you are. Mr. Li has told me that you were coming. It was clever to have him put a good word for you. Otherwise, I would not even consider seeing you,"

Whitney Qiu replied. Cassandra was confused. 'Who's Mr. Li?' she thought. It took her a second to realize that Mr. Li must be the mediator Rufus hired.

'This mediator must be very reputable to have this kind of influence, ' she thought.

Whitney looked down at Cassandra from the second step of the stairway. She had a way of making people feel so severely inadequate.

Coming to her senses, Cassandra recollected herself and managed a smile.

"Mrs. Zheng, has Mr. Li told you about the current situation of Qin Group? Right now, I am..."

She gestured Cassandra to stop before she could finish talking.

"Hold on. I do not want to hear about the shares my husband left. I assigned someone else to handle it. I am a woman who is not interested in business,"

she imposed. This made Cassandra feel very disappointed. Deep inside, she knew that Whitney Qiu only refused to cooperate because she was aware of the current situation of the company.

Still, a part of her did not want to believe that she came all the way to Norway for nothing.

family, not really the company. It has been a while since we last met, I almost feel like I should call you 'Auntie'. Would it be okay for me

decided to change her approach

enough, Whitney's expression softened.

girl is very smart. Smarter than

once built the business with Vernon, was one of the co-founders of Qin Group. Unfortunately, he passed away suddenly because of heart disease. After his demise, Whitney and

her end. She did not want to get involved in any relationship at her hometown. She also hired TY Group to manage her assets. Business dealings were not something she wanted to dabble in. If Jasper Li did not ask her to meet Cassandra, she would not have accepted the

remembered Cassandra as the five-year-old girl who used to be playmates with her daughter, Courtney. They were the same

back when she was young, her daughter

memories of the past suddenly coming

was just too beautiful, it made her sad to remember and realize that it was now all gone.

brought

mood, Whitney Qiu stepped down from the stairs and sat on the couch. She poured some tea into the fancy tea

Cassandra," she

sophistication. 'This is a

sat opposite to her and enjoyed the tea as she stroked the

heard that you are

She did not seem indifferent to her

the designer for the Tang Group now," she replied, hiding the astonishment that it was Whitney Qiu who started the conversation. Her eyes were getting brighter.

trying to save the Qin

puzzled in her insightful eyes.

father's dream. He works for this his whole life. He started this company when he was young. He had his share of successes and failures. This company is the product of everything that he has worked for. Right now, he is no longer capable of taking care of it the way he did before, but I am. As his daughter, I am determined to do everything I can to have it remain the same until he gets out of

shared, her eyes glowing with

Qiu was

of life. He and Vernon were good partners, and he had invested in the Qin Group.

not have much value. The only thing that kept her from selling it was

to put all her eggs in one basket. This mentality made her wealthy and never needed to

for your father is admirable. He is very lucky to have

not something Cassandra was accustomed to. It made her feel a bit calm and

seems to really

her felt curious about Courtney, especially

aloof for her age, even more than her