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.

walked away and

will I

will the sky start

will the stars start to

will I know that

note, every tune, every syllable came out perfectly. It was almost

no impure sounds. One could confidently say she sang as well as the singer who originally sung

Slowly, a gentle stream of piano music filled the air, mixing harmoniously

meet you in the sunshine, and when we

the moonlight...Did we make every minute last another day...

a cold December night, I gave my heart to you.

grow older and the stars will

are memories

I see you

the sky start

stars

will I know that

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

voice as he raised his head and gazed at her, his

smile crept up Rufus's face. It was as if the light from their eyes met in the air midways and played with each other, twisting and curling around, exerting glitter.

eyed them, completely sidelined.

morning, I saw

verse softly. Her voice reverberated in the hall before

her voice, the music gradually dissolved in the air too.

gaze. They looked like a perfect pair.

up and scooped her into his arms, kissing her on the forehead.

display of affection. Amanda's eyes dripped of

to bring Cassandra on the stage, let alone kiss her in front of

only Rufus and Cassandra owned the stage. Amanda was terribly humiliated. She felt completely hollow, like an

Amanda and found Rufus' actions inappropriate, but 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

standing in the shade of the piano. Her face turned deadly

would perform with Rufus in front

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

at all. All the guests were discussing about the couple, completely

could she

She murmured to Rufus, her tone both

What if I had messed up! It would've been so

the glow on her was alluring. Under the sparkling yellow light,

wouldn't have messed up. I

kept his love-filled eyes fixed at her.

couldn't stand to see them being all lovey-dovey, standing so close