A Graduation Gift

Rufus held Cassandra's hand and strode toward the stage, taking her along.

Looking at the two of them approaching, the crowd automatically cleared a path for them.

Amanda's face dulled, her lips pressed together. 'Why would Rufus bring Cassandra up here? What is he up to?' she wondered bitterly.

A hint of nervousness flashed through Lionel's eyes. Rufus's actions had perplexed him.

Cassandra, on the other hand, was in a daze. Even when they reached the stage, she still hadn't recollected her senses.

"Let Cassandra, Amanda and I perform together for this show!"

Rufus announced, taking the microphone. Then, he turned the speaker off and whispered to Cassandra, "Sing something. Anything is fine. I'll play the accompaniment music for you."

He turned the mic back on, fixing it on the stand and adjusting its height for Cassandra. He gave her an encouraging smile and a pat on her shoulder before he walked to the piano and took a seat.

Everyone in the room was shocked! The love triangle in the rumour was now on the stage, ready to perform together. What was this supposed to mean?

Some wondered if this was one of Rufus's business strategy to gain fame by becoming the hot topic all over the news.

Most of the crowd was curiously drawn to Cassandra, who, on the other hand, had no idea about what she was supposed to do. She had simply been dragged onto the stage, mindlessly, and then, asked to sing!

Even though part of her was pretty confident about her singing skills; truth was, she had never sung in front of so many people. The most she did was sometimes to hum and sing to herself in solitude.

Once, Rufus had joked saying she sang so well that she could even release an album of her own. Of course, she rejected the idea right away. She didn't want to become a publicly scrutinised singer. All she wanted was to work at her desk, drawing her sketches.

She found herself most relaxed working with the pen and the paper in silence, or making use of the design applications on the computer. It was almost meditative for her.

But in the moment, Cassandra had no chance to retreat. The mic was right in front of her, and hundreds of people were waiting for her to give them a performance. If she flinched, wouldn't she be viewed as a coward by the others in the industry?

What would they think of her—the head of the Qin Group wasn't even willing to sing a song at the charity dinner?

She couldn't let this happen!

'Never mind, just give it all!' she said to herself.

She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath, preparing herself.

The crowd went quiet, all their eyes fixed on Cassandra.

"In that misty morning when I saw your smiling face.

You only looked at me and I was yours.

But when I turned around, you were nowhere to be seen.

had walked away and closed

will I see you

will the sky start

the stars

will I know that

nightingale. Every note, every tune, every syllable came out perfectly. It was almost as if she was

hints of forced fanciness in her voice, no impure sounds. One could confidently say she sang as

piano music filled the

sunshine, and

in the moonlight...Did we make

cold December night, I gave my heart to you. And by the summer you

grow older and the stars will start to dim.

are memories and this

I see you

will the sky

stars start to

will I know that

mic out from the stand and walked toward the piano. Rufus couldn't play the piano as spectacularly as Amanda, but his adept way of playing was enough to accomplish a successful duet, and satisfy the crowd. After all, most

fingers followed Cassandra's flowing voice as he raised his head and gazed at her,

light from their eyes met in the air midways and played

them, completely sidelined.

I saw your smiling

voice reverberated in

voice, the music gradually dissolved in the air too.

held each other's gaze. They looked like

into

a public display of affection. Amanda's eyes dripped of jealousy looking at them so close to each other.

to bring Cassandra on the stage, let alone kiss her in front of everyone. He had completely

three of them up there, only Rufus and Cassandra owned the stage. Amanda was terribly humiliated. She felt completely hollow, like an

it seemed that anything was allowed in the name of love—they were awed by the love between Rufus and Cassandra, and didn't notice how embarrassed Amanda was. The audience applauded, marking a perfect end to the charity dinner.

clenched her fists in anger, standing in the shade of the piano. Her face turned deadly pale, her eyes filled with cruelty

plan she had carried out by talking to Ivy, who agreed to make Lionel arrange the performances such that hers was the last. She thought she would perform with Rufus in front of all the attendants. She wanted everyone to know how compatible she was with Rufus, so that Cassandra would retreat from this

no way of expecting Rufus would act so impulsively and sabotage her plan by inviting Cassandra, or rather, grabbing her hand and bringing her to the stage. The duet they were supposed to perform together simply became accompaniment music for Cassandra's song.

were so smitten by this 'Act of love, ' that they didn't care about Amanda at all. All the guests were discussing about the couple, completely ignoring the third, extra person on

she

brought Cassandra down the stage as her face blushed. She murmured to Rufus, her tone both shy and angry, at

could you make me sing without any prior information! What if I had messed

lips and the glow on her was alluring.

messed

was relaxed. He kept his love-filled eyes fixed at her.

stand to see them being all lovey-dovey, standing