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.

the company. It has been a while since we last met, I almost feel like I should call you 'Auntie'. Would it

She decided to change her approach to

enough, Whitney's

is very smart. Smarter than

co-founders of Qin Group. Unfortunately, he passed away suddenly because of heart disease. After

what had happened to them. Of course, this was intentional from 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

who used to be playmates with her daughter, Courtney.

ago, back when she was young, her daughter was happy and her husband was still alive...

her eyes moisten with memories of the past

made her sad to

one word, "Auntie", brought back lots

on

Cassandra," she offered.

admire her grace and sophistication. 'This is a true lady. She still remains elegant

enjoyed the tea as she stroked the golden teacup. She was thinking about how to

you

did not seem

she replied, hiding the astonishment that it was Whitney

trying to save the Qin Group? With your family's holdings, your family would still benefit a lot from

asked, puzzled in her insightful

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

shared, her eyes glowing with sincerity.

Qiu was deeply moved.

young and full of life. He and Vernon were good

The only thing

to put all her eggs in

is admirable. He is

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

upstairs just now? She seems to really love

Courtney, especially when she shot her a very

so aloof for her age, even more