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.

It has been a while since we

to change her approach to

enough, Whitney's expression softened.

smart. Smarter than her father!' she thought.

Group. Unfortunately, he passed away suddenly because of heart disease. After his demise, Whitney and their daughter immigrated to

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.

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

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

felt her eyes moisten with memories of the past suddenly coming

to remember and realize that it

"Auntie", brought

on the couch. She poured some tea into the

seat, Cassandra," she offered.

posture, Cassandra could not help but admire her grace and sophistication. 'This is a true lady. She

tea as she stroked the golden teacup. She was thinking about how to start their conversation.

heard that you

did not seem indifferent to her

replied, hiding the astonishment that it was Whitney Qiu who started the conversation.

are you still trying to save the Qin Group? With your family's

puzzled in her insightful

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

shared, her eyes glowing with

Qiu was deeply moved.

recalled the days when her husband was young and full of life. He

only thing that kept her from selling it was the fact that it was something that her

important not to put all her eggs in one basket.

is admirable. He is very

said, gently. This show of affection was not something Cassandra was accustomed to. It made her feel a bit calm and

just now? She seems to really love her cat. It looks very well cared for, too,"

part of her felt curious about Courtney, especially when she shot her a very indifferent gaze.

age, even more than her mother