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

she addressed him as 'Uncle' earlier, as if she was related to him. Somehow, she felt awkward when she thought about how

even as she stumbled over her words. Jasper felt even more uncomfortable at the sudden

a clear picture in her head of what she wanted, but she hesitated. She had a limited budget, and she had

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 things

she walked out of the mall. It was a good day and she felt very pleasant as she bounced on her feet and wore a smile on her face. Today seemed like her lucky day. She had

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

sign of Rufus. Cassandra checked her phone. No messages. Her calls were also unanswered. She felt his absence put a damper on

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

home of Tangs, but he told her that he

to keep it warm. Then, she slumped back on the couch and waited. The sound

enveloped in the warmth of

in the largest concert hall in G City, Amanda's performance was

stage. They had an almost ethereal sound as the melodies echoed through

seated in the front row. Turning to his side, Horace said, "We must sponsor Miss Ke's next concert. It would be a good step to enhance our cultural influence and visibility.

with his idea, and

face expressionless. He glanced at his watch and counted the seconds. He hadn't planned to come to this concert at all. However, Horace asked his driver to wait for him right outside the office building and insisted on

an invitation to this concert, but going was the

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

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

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.

back the way things were before. The knowledge brought him no feelings at all. It was as if his past self was a stranger. He had no desire to

the image of her drunk and in tears. A pang of

through his musings as he replied to

that the local government is planning to appoint a spokesperson for the

of a smile was pulling on Horace's face as

call with the investor, he had been digging for

things he read. She would be the perfect match for Rufus— young, beautiful, talented, and from a good family. If he

silent and unresponsive about this. He sat on his

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

all things, he had even left his phone at his office, so he had

his seat, trying to find a more comfortable position as

golden dress. There was a beat of silence as the crowd held their breath at the sight of

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