A Graduation Gift

The comfortable position Cassandra assumed at her place beside Rufus was met with a judging appraisal from Charlie. His
assessing gaze lingered on her stomach, naturally thinking that the woman was pregnant.
It was clear that what he had said in prior was deemed as an attempt to embarrass her; the blatant coldness of his eyes betrayed
any facade of politeness he was expected to infer. 'Rumor has it that this lady is cunning, and I wouldn't be so surprised if it's
true. She's really shameless for divorcing Lionel just to be with his elder brother. I would be surely embarrassed if I were her, ' he
thought.
Charlie regarded Cassandra with a stare full of contempt—his last interaction with her, before he opted to ignore her presence
completely.
"Mr. Ke, I brought Cassandra for a physical examination. Though, in respect to what you said, we will definitely invite you if we
were to push through with our wedding."
A hand snaked around Cassandra's waist, which was an obvious ploy for Rufus to show her off as his esteemed partner, in reply
to the unwelcomed irony of Charlie's words.
On the other hand, it seemed that Charlie's resentment was almost equivalent to Cassandra's own. His figure was her source of
loathing. The presumed knowledge that he was the main culprit for the bankruptcy of her precious company left her seething
inside in disdain. It was exceedingly hard for her to even remain calm in the face of the accused criminal.
She could only bear so much due to the sole recollection of Charlie being Rufus's mentor, and the fact that all of things he had
done were for his cherished daughter.
Her beloved's respectful behavior coaxed her to lower down her guard. She had chosen to say nothing in fear of the hateful
words that she might end up spouting, so she simply bowed her head in courtesy.
Deliberately avoiding any participation in their ongoing conversation would save Rufus from experiencing any secondhand
embarrassment, if Cassandra were to lash out in barely restrained anger.
"Humph, then why didn't you come to Amanda's wedding the other day?"
The couple had sent red packet as a congratulatory gift to the newly-weds, but their choice of abstaining from the important
event made Charlie extremely uncomfortable and bothered.

'I've tried my best to impart all skills needed for business to him, so I most likely play an important role in his achievements today.
Yet, he didn't even have the gall to attend my daughter's wedding? Other festivals aside, that was a great humiliation on my part,
' he mused, clear disappointment showing on his expression.
"My apologies. Cassandra wasn't feeling very well the other day, so we needed to pass on the wedding. As you can see now, we
are here for a check-up,"
Rufus said in a steady voice, not the least bit affected by the underlying meaning of Charlie's statement. Despite the onslaught of
obtrusive remarks, his deference for his teacher had not wavered in the slightest.
Charlie's spite had reduced a bit as a result of Rufus's unfaltering courtesy towards him. Although he was a little angry, a smile
was still to appear on his stone features.
"Neither you nor Clark came back to the meeting earlier. Is it because you own TY Group now? You're not willing to contribute to
the Dark Night Group anymore, are you?"
Malevolence enunciated his allegations for Rufus, unabashedly revealing his blame for his student.
Clark was a wily old bird who was often absent from meetings, and even if he was the president of the Dark Night Group, he
severely lacked the qualifications needed for the high position. It was Charlie who had helped him willingly with all kinds of work
matters every time.
'I used to assist him in managing the company for the sake of his father, but now that he has become my son-in-law and my
grandson's father, I'll be doing everything I can to help him of my own will, ' Charlie contemplated.
In any case, Rufus had also changed too much.
His official leave from the Dark Night Group had not rescinded his active responses to Charlie's management measures. He
would even join scheduled appointments, given that there was an issue of great significance to be handled by the company.
Lately though, his involvement had substantially lowered, and it was another distress that Charlie had been dealing with until this
point.
"Mr. Ke, that's a serious complaint. I've never thought about it like that. Mr. Ji is in charge of the company now, so there's not
much help that I can offer at present. It'll also make him unhappy if I engage deeply in the governance, so I decided to refrain
from attending the meetings."

Rufus's brows furrowed in defense. He had promised to help Charlie in managing the business, right until Clark had become
Charlie's son-in-law. But he had not said anything about the matter and had solely intended to avoid the complicated situation he
was forced in.
The two had become a family, after all, so Charlie would be helping Clark more in the future. Previous talks of Rufus assisting
Charlie in taking over the authority of the Dark Night Group had all become an omitted past.
Furthermore, Charlie's support was now offered to Clark, and the inexplicable hostility the man harbored against Rufus was more
than enough to make him vigilant. Rufus had no plans of keeping in touch with an enemy.
An offhanded snort from Charlie startled the couple, his rude rebuttal setting them on edge.
Amanda, who had not taken any interest in the exchange of the men, singled out Cassandra with a piercing stare. The subject of
interest merely narrowed Cassandra's eyes at the flagrant animosity and kept her posture submissive to withhold from fanning
the flames of enmity.
"Amanda, let's go."
No polite salutations of farewell were bartered as Charlie deserted their discussion. His daughter hesitated to follow suit, biting
her lip as she dawdled on Rufus's uncaring form before she eventually complied to her father's wishes.
Everything Amanda had arranged was enough to fool Charlie into thinking that she was pregnant. 'For the meantime, I must not
let him know that I've been faking my pregnancy. I can't risk annoying Clark. If I had let my father in on our secret, my reputation
would be destroyed in an instant, ' Amanda thought with worry gnawing on her sinful mind.