A Graduation Gift

When Amanda finished, the audience roared with a thunderous applause.

She stood up, bowed to show her appreciation; and then her eyes scanned the crowd for Rufus. Finally, they settled on him and happiness reeked through her body.

Rufus noticed the way she looked at him. When he met her gaze, he promptly moved his eyes away.

But Amanda wasn't upset. Just one look which had lasted only for a few seconds filled her with contentment.

Nothing could spoil her mood today. The admiration she felt for him explained the extra piece which was not listed on the program. It was exclusively for Rufus.

When she gave Lionel the admission ticket, she also saved one for Rufus. Instead of giving it to him by herself, she handed it over to his assistant. In spite of this, she highly doubted he would show up. She vividly remembered what happened the last time—she had given him two tickets for the concert but instead of Rufus, an unknown man and woman showed up.

'But today he came!' her heart wanted to scream again and again. When she first spotted Rufus on a VIP seat, her mouth was agape with surprise.

Once the information finally sank in, she looked around and spotted Lionel. He was sitting with an old man who wore a stern look.

Out of excitement, she decided to continue with another piece soon after her half-time break.

Secretly, she hoped the piece would strike a chord in Rufus's heart. Her intention was to revive his memories. She wanted him to recollect their past and feel nostalgic.

A sly smile crept on her face when she realized this was their little secret. Nobody else in the audience had any idea about her intention. They presumed Amanda had played an extra piece as a bonus. Artists often rewarded their fans with an extra piece so nobody found this to be unusual.

Amanda continued to communicate with the audience using her music. It left everyone intoxicated.

No one could have guessed what would happen next.

When the second half ended, everyone stood up to applaud. Amanda once again bowed and showed her gratitude.

For the hundredth time, her eyes drifted and landed on Rufus. But this time, she didn't look away. In an emotional tone, she began speaking, "There was a time when I thought my music was only recognized overseas. Due to this, I pushed myself to make a mark there. But gradually I have come to learn that music has no boundary. Due to my Chinese ancestry, I find myself getting more and more drawn towards the music industry of China. After giving it a lot of thought, my studio and I have come up with a solution. We have decided to shift the focus from overseas to home. Yes guys, you heard me right! My new studio is going to be located here in G City!"

It took a few seconds for the audience to realize their ears weren't playing tricks on them. To confirm their doubts, they started whispering to one another. There was a part of them that still couldn't believe what they heard. They didn't understand why Amanda would choose G City for her future development.

Seeing their confusion, Amanda added, "I understand why you all look so surprised. You must be wondering why I picked G city out of all the places. You might want to know why I didn't choose Beijing which is the capital of culture. Also there is Shanghai which is the capital of prosperity. I completely get your concern and won't hesitate before coming clean to you people. To be honest, I admire the vitality of G City, but that's not the sole reason for shifting here. The truth is the person I care about is living in this city."

In her gentle voice, she went about and filled the audience with truth. There was something very vulnerable in her eyes.

break to compose herself and then went on, "I'm very concerned about him hence I wish to be

if he treats me as a friend or a stranger, I've decided to settle in G City. I am not sure if my decision will have any impact on him but I definitely

audience were once again taken aback by her statement. They couldn't believe she was pouring her true feelings before them. They sat there in complete silence. The earlier whispering stopped.

music school here in G City. Hence I've decided to build one which will be called 'Amanda Piano School'. The aim of this institute is to provide education for the ones who are talented in piano music. I wish we can succeed

time ago. Yet she didn't planned to announce it today. But when she found out Rufus was in the concert, she decided there

believed that Rufus would understand her intention. When she expressed her feelings to him in front

pure emotions were depicted in her eyes. Horace who was sitting

seems

in his tone. He wanted to confirm his doubts with Lionel.

observed this even before Horace pointed it out. He noticed that Amanda kept on fixating her gaze in their direction. He also suspected Rufus was the man she was interested in, but he had no

and Amanda know each

live overseas and Amanda grew up overseas. There might be some connection between

is living here. Were they lovers before?' his sharp

think this is the right time to make a wild guess. She didn't say anything yet,

sour mood and thinking about Rufus spoiled it further. The knowledge of Rufus's secretive relationship

company. Now I would like to welcome the president of that

hand her the contract. In a matter of seconds, they had the table on the

completely unexpected and they started talking and whispering to each

concert. No one would have expected to hear such a good news. And the fact it was announced by Amanda

to make things even better, the signing of the contract

hall and once again fixated her

the construction of Amanda Piano School to the best construction company of G

had decided the construction company even before she announced her decision. Like all her other steps, this

recently. Everyone knew that Rufus was the president of Tang Group. In fact, he was more than just a president, he was the one who was in charge of Tang

up. They were a little disturbed by the fact that he remained in his seat. His eyebrows were pulled together and doubts were etched in

Amanda had done this. If she wanted to make her future

Hence this news came to him all of a sudden and caught him completely off guard. He realized

him from doing it. 'Would she misunderstand things if I sign the contract? Will she think I want to start things all over again?' he questioned himself apprehensively.

awkward. The audience stopped whispering and all eyes were on Rufus. The dreadful silence left him feeling a little

to appreciate favors. They just couldn't