A Graduation Gift

Cassandra was already asleep when Rufus drove her home.

As gently as he could without waking her up, Rufus scooped her into his arms and carried her out of the car. Half-awake, Cassandra got a glimpse of his face as he carried her before letting the drowsiness take over her.

In his arms, she had nothing to fear. Knowing that Rufus was with her as she fell asleep, she felt utterly secure.

As he felt her breathing turn slow and steady, Rufus gazed upon the little woman's sleeping face and smiled.

Even as he helped her out of her coat and tucked her into bed, Cassandra stayed sound asleep.

For a moment before he left, Rufus stayed to make sure she was comfortably fast asleep, a soft look in his eyes. Sure not to make a sound, he cautiously stepped out of the room before heading to his study downstairs and giving Victor a call.

"I found a few bugs in the lobby of the Qin family mansion and cleared them. They must've been from Arthur. Did you find anything?" Rufus's expression and tone were rather grim.

It seemed that his neighbor dared to monitor the Qin family for some ambitious plan.

"Recently the Dawn Star Group and Tang Group are both bidding for an important project. The Tang Group is betting everything this time. If they fail, it'll be the end of the company. No bank will bother loaning them anything because they'll have no means to pay their debts. If they're prosecuted, they'll go bankrupt,"

Victor just reported to Rufus the most recent status of Tang Group. With that, Rufus's dream of the downfall of the Tang Group was finally coming close to reality.

"Plus, Mr. Tang has been looking for you. He said that you haven't been picking up his calls so he found and asked me to arrange a meeting with you."

Upon hearing Horace's request, Rufus sneered, "He's been making phone calls to find me? Doesn't seem like anything urgent."

Of course, he wouldn't pick up Horace's calls. Since the day he left Tang Group, he had decided that he wasn't going to help Horace no matter how hard he pleaded.

Even when Charlie asked Horace to hold the fake engagement ceremony, Rufus didn't even bother to speak with him.

"It must be about the bidding event. Dawn Star is their most powerful rival, after all."

Victor's tone turned unusually strange when he said it. The change was subtle but still detectable to Rufus.

"What exactly…did he say to you?"

Rufus asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

"He…

He was worried that you wouldn't be there if he came," Victor responded.

He remembered how worried and anxious Horace was when he came to him. Seeing such a pitiful look on the old man's face, Victor couldn't help but feel sympathetic.

"Mr. Luo…

time?" Victor carefully suggested. Unsurprisingly, it took no time for Rufus

went cold as ice after hearing Victor's infuriating

Mr. Tang, he seemed terribly sick. I

to give Horace the benefit of the doubt,

wish to help him, you're free to go! Go ahead!

Rufus to the bone. How could Victor, who had been loyal to him all the while, start sounding like his enemy at such

line, Victor instantly

when Rufus was angry, it was best to

he go to you?" Rufus asked.

with Mrs. Tang," Victor

that point, he was afraid that even a moment's hesitation would fuel Rufus's fury.

Just tell your people to keep an eye on Clark and

finished speaking, Rufus hung up the phone rather aggressively. Unease filled

he knew that he wouldn't get anything

to the last minute? Why didn't you do it right from the start?' Rufus

money, if Horace could have trusted him a bit more, instead of buying totally what Lionel had said, Rufus wouldn't have become so cold-hearted

merely an empty set of words to him now. Between Rufus and the rather useless Lionel, his father still chose

regret. He wanted him to know, that

and his mother. All their suffering was his doing and now, it was time for him to pay the price. He had it coming!

contented as he imagined he would be. He had successfully fulfilled his revenge. What was wrong

feeling he was anticipating didn't seem to come to him. It was a long time waiting for the end of the

Rufus felt

he pulled out

thought, he crushed them in his hand, leaving just

night, Arthur was surely going to be in the Qin family mansion and he would then discover that the bugs were

would suspect

Arthur had his motives for approaching Cloris, Rufus still couldn't decipher what exactly Arthur was

seemed as though, in the darkness, a kind of

ringing of a bell from downstairs. Abruptly, she sprang up and realized that she was the only person left in the

out his name but there was no response.

a small

do. Breakfast is in the

was gone. Otherwise, he would've taken care of

her messy hair, changed into decent clothes

would he visit