A Graduation Gift

Cassandra felt a dull pain stabbing at her back and waist. Sighing out loud, she could feel tight knots in her muscles. It was indeed not an easy job to manage a business.

"Cassandra?"

A familiar voice called out to her. She looked up and met a man's concerned gaze. He seemed very familiar, and it took Cassandra a moment to recognize him.

"Oh, Uncle… Uncle Jasper!"

She hesitated on using the honorific, unsure of how to address him. Calling him 'Uncle-In-Law' did not seem very appropriate as she hadn't married into Rufus's family yet. At the same time, 'Brother' would sound too intimate, and so she settled for 'Uncle'... The only problem was that Jasper looked too young to be addressed as such.

Sure enough, he gave her an awkward look upon her greeting. He signed inwardly, 'Am I that old?'

At this moment, a man in a suit strode to his direction and bowed before him respectfully.

"President Li, we didn't expect that you would be coming today. Is there anything I could do for you?"

Cassandra peeked at the name tag on his chest. It bore the title "Supervisor".

But her thoughts were elsewhere instantly. 'What? President Li?' Cassandra tried to hide her surprise upon hearing the man call Jasper 'President'.

"I have checked the reports. Good work,"

Jasper said to him, with calm and formal air. It was as if a different person was standing in front of her. She failed to find any trace of the laughter and playfulness he had on the night of New Year's Eve.

The man visibly brightened at the president's acknowledgement.

Then, Jasper turned to Cassandra and asked her softly, "Are you here to shop for anything?"

His voice pulled Cassandra from her thoughts and back to reality. "Oh, I'm here to pick up some supplies," she managed to reply.

Jasper waved a hand at the supervisor, and in an instant he was at his side, wearing a big smile.

"Give Miss Qin the cost price of all the products. Charge the remaining balance cost to my account,"

he instructed. The supervisor nodded repeatedly.

"Well, thank you so much for your help, President Li," Cassandra uttered with gratitude, stunned by his generosity.

Not once had it crossed Cassandra's mind that Jasper would be the president of this huge mall.

If that was the case…she turned to Jasper with wide eyes. That must mean that Jasper was the president of

if she was related to him. Somehow, she felt awkward when she thought about how

stumbled over her words. Jasper felt even more uncomfortable at the sudden show of formality. 'So

showed Cassandra around and enthusiastically gave recommendations about which brands were best for the designs she had in mind. In reality, Cassandra already had a clear picture in her head of what she wanted, but she hesitated. She had a limited budget, and she had to think well and make adjustments if necessary.

Jasper's help, all she needed were offered to her at an unbelievably low price. She silently thanked him for his graciousness. Now, she could get

the mall. It was a good day and she felt very pleasant as she bounced on her feet and wore a smile

she passed by the market, she decided to buy some chicken to stew with tea. It would be good to celebrate this day with Rufus.They could have tea together and she would tell him all about what happened in her day. She clutched the bags in her

the evening, but there was still no sign of Rufus. Cassandra checked her phone. No messages. Her calls were also unanswered. She

unusual. There had never been a time before when Rufus didn't call or send her a message if he couldn't

that he would come to visit on the evening of Lantern Festival. What could be

on the couch and waited. The sound of the clock seemed very loud in the silence of the hall, and she felt the rhythmic sound lulling her. After some time, she drifted into

in the warmth of

in G City, Amanda's performance was had paused into an

on the stage. They had an almost ethereal sound

"We must sponsor Miss Ke's next concert. It would be a good step to enhance our cultural influence and visibility. It would be good to show

idea, and sank back

planned to come to this concert at all. However, Horace asked his driver to wait for him right outside the

He also had received an invitation to this concert, but going was the last

in the past. Amanda had sent him two tickets for her previous show through her assistant, but he gave them to Victor and

had watched countless of her concerts. He remembered the crowd's faces when she played— mesmerized, and in absolute adoration. It was all too familiar, as he too, had once been one of them. He closed his eyes as

her beauty and her elegance. At one time, she had seemed to make his world brighter and more beautiful. But that happiness lasted a short time. He could still remember how distraught he was when she broke up with him at her father's request. All at once, his world turned gloomy, as if she took all the light with her. It took him a long time to move on. One day, he woke up to find every trace of her gone from his heart. That

It was as if his past self was a stranger. He had no desire to be involved with her in any way, and he only did

to Cassandra, bringing up the image of her drunk and in tears. A pang of pain clutched at his heart. He never wanted to see

broke through his musings

spokesperson for the scenic spot, and they have their eye on

was pulling on Horace's face as he heard

digging for any information he could find about

would be the perfect match for Rufus— young, beautiful, talented, and from a

and unresponsive about this. He sat on his

the Garden Villa to have dinner with her on this holiday. He glanced at his watch for

all things, he had even left his phone at his office, so he had no way of reaching

find a more comfortable position as his mind wandered to

of silence as the crowd held their breath at the sight of her. Everyone's eyes were fixed on her as

leaping on the keys. The music echoed through the halls, playing a melody that