A Graduation Gift

Chapter 236 Please Respect Us (Part Two)

After a short moment's silence, Cassandra asked. For a second, she panicked thinking there must be something wrong with Rufus's leg. 'Maybe his leg hurts which is why he is unable to drive, ' her anxious mind guessed. Immediately, she directed her eyes on his leg and got ready to bend forward in order to check on him.

Before she could move much, Rufus clutched her with his strong hand. He held her chin with his other hand. Slowly, he leaned forward and gave her a passionate kiss.

The street was filled with people. Even though the windows were up, Cassandra still felt very self conscious and shy.

"Cassandra, right now I just had a taste of your lipstick. But tonight, I will be eating you completely," Rufus confessed with a smirk.

And his eyes were glinting with pleasure. His words and his actions brought a scarlet red tint to her cheeks. Gingerly, she pushed Rufus away and turned her face to the window. She couldn't bear looking into his enticing eyes.

Seeing her cute reaction, Rufus chuckled. He finally withdrew his gaze from her and started the car. They slowly drove to the hotel that held the charity event.

When they arrived there, they noticed it was already packed with people. Since both of their names were on the invitation list, they were instantly allowed to enter inside.

Everyone present in the hall were dressed in black. It was their way of mourning and showing respect to those who lost their lives during the deadly earthquake.

Even the decoration of the hall was plain and simple. No gaudy colors were used for anything. 'Whoever decorated this place did an amazing job, ' thought Cassandra. It was elegant yet it retained

the gravity of the tragedy.

Rufus was dressed in a sleek black suit that made him look striking. Cassandra's black dress complemented his outfit. Rufus was tall and collected whereas Cassandra was petite and soft. As soon as they walked inside, many pairs of eyes fell on them.

Cassandra caught a glimpse of some people looking towards her and whispering among their friends. And to be honest, it made her edgy and restless. She had no idea what they were talking about. But she knew it couldn't be good. Gossips spread like a wildfire and Cassandra fell victim to it several times. Last time, she was ordained by Ivy to apologize in front of so many people. Even now her cheeks flushed with humiliation at the thought of this. She felt a sudden urge to leave and began to regret her decision to attend this event.

Rufus must have felt her hesitation and distress. He put his large hands on her, trying to silently comfort her.

"Don't worry. Nothing bad will happen to you while I am here,"

Rufus whispered in her ear. Hearing his low and soft voice, Cassandra couldn't help but feel at ease. She felt her earlier trepidation dissipate. 'Rufus is here with me. There is nothing to worry about as long as he is by my side, ' her mind said, consoling her. Putting on a smile, she straightened her back and walked further into the big hall with him.

Lionel walked towards them, arm in arm with Ivy. The look on Ivy's face was that of pure hatred. She glared at Cassandra with her spiteful eyes. Her gaze was like a sharp knife, intending to pierce Cassandra brutally. Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Cassandra knew the sort of feeling Ivy had towards her. Her presence usually left her terror-stricken. But today, it was different. Rufus was by her side and that was all the support she needed. Cassandra tightened her grip on Rufus's arm and flashed Ivy a victorious smile. This vexed Ivy even further.

Meanwhile, Lionel's eyes fixated on Cassandra. They were intense but unreadable. Of course, Ivy noticed this.

Ivy realized that Lionel was finding it hard to tear his gaze off Cassandra. Slowly, he was goggling at her beauty. All this made Ivy boil in rage. But they were in a party right now with dozens of people around hence Ivy constrained her anger. With a heavy heart, she zipped her mouth shut. But her venomous eyes continued to watch Cassandra.

Rufus had a lot of acquaintances in this party. From time to time, people would grab him for a personal chat. But Cassandra tried her best to be with him all the time. There were times when she caught people staring at them. Their relationship was looked down upon by the wealthy people. All of them probably thought he was making a mistake.

Cassandra was smart and saw right through them. Most of them didn't have much to talk with Rufus, instead they were looking for gossip. It was no news in the whole G City that Cassandra divorced the little brother in the Tang family and got in a relationship with her former brother-in-law. People who had never seen her in person were longing to get a glimpse of her.

They were burning with curiosity. Everyone was dying to look her over from head to toe, trying to dig out the answer why was this little woman able to allure the two brothers of the Tangs.

Some labelled their relationship as unorthodox. Different people had different opinion on Cassandra. While they chatted away, they kept on glancing towards her. She felt like her privacy was being invaded. Once again she found herself on the spotlight.

While Cassandra was pondering about a way to escape, the host walked up on the stage and began talking.

"May I have your attention, ladies and gentlemen. We have an interesting speech coming up. It will be given by our beloved CEO of the Tang Group and also the organizer of tonight's event, Mr. Rufus Luo.

Please come onto the stage!" the host announced.

He was a man with loud voice and it demanded people's attention. After these words were spoken, the guests broke into a thunderous applause.

"So you are the organizer of this event? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Cassandra asked confusedly. Her eyes were wide with suspicion. It was evident that she had no idea about this and was caught off guard.

"Yeah...I am. Didn't you know that already?"

The corners of Rufus's lips curled into a smirk. He straightened his clothes and walked up to take over the stage.

People around watched him as he walked towards the stage in his self-assured manner. His confidence was palpable and everyone was in awe as they looked at him. He didn't look like someone who had hurt his leg in an accident a month ago. People who didn't know about his injury couldn't even tell he was ever injured.

Cassandra was at a loss for words. She watched him walk up to the stage while blaming herself for not realizing it earlier.

'The Tang Group is the director of the Union of Real Estate, and of course Rufus is the organizer. I am stupid for not figuring it out, ' she told herself.

Rufus reached the stage and stood in the center. All eyes were focused on this amazing man. They eagerly waited for his speech.

He didn't give the typical boring speech that everyone expected him to give. Without any formality, he started with a small story.

"After the disastrous earthquake in A City, I was there for a while. I would be lying if I said my intention was to help people. No, my visit there had nothing to do with the earthquake. I went there looking for the most valuable person of my life. But once I arrived there, I realized how indifferent I was towards other's misery. That's when it struck me how trivial my personal need was when compared to their sufferings. I felt a wave of guilt surge through my body. I realized how little I cared about others."

While he spoke these words, Rufus relived that day. He remembered how overwhelmed he was when he first arrived at A City. It seemed like the manifestation of a nightmare. Everyone was scattered around crying for their loved ones. Suddenly, he found himself so small under the mother nature.

"I was a volunteer there for some time. We donated as much as we could but it just wasn't enough. The needs have always outweighed the resources. I remember how helpless I felt then. While I was there, I also got an opportunity to see how hard the rescue teams work to save people. And I have also witnessed the pain they go through when they watch lives being lost. I was there to hear people sob after they lost their dear ones. And I was also there to watch the tears of joy stream down the eyes of the family being reunited. And in that moment, I swore to myself that I would do something for them after I got back to G City."

Suddenly, Rufus turned his eyes on Cassandra. She discerned a dazzling bright light shining in his eyes.

"And while I had this experience, there was someone who was by my side. And her actions moved me deeply. No matter what difficulty she encountered, she never gave up. Her determination and enthusiasm to make a change was laudable. She helped the rescue team on saving lives by offering them her professional knowledge. And we are lucky to have her here with us tonight. She is none other than Cassandra Qin!"