A Graduation Gift

Chapter 238 Go To His Room

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.

You had walked away and closed the door.

When will I see you again;

When will the sky start to rain;

When will the stars start to shine;

When will I know that you're mine..."

The song she sang was called 'Fairy Tale.' Her voice was smooth and clear, like a nightingale. Every note, every tune, every syllable came out perfectly. It was almost as if she was a professional vocalist.

There was no hints of forced fanciness in her voice, no impure sounds. One could confidently say she sang as well as the singer who originally sung the song.

She began with acapella. Slowly, a gentle stream of piano music filled the air, mixing harmoniously with her voice.

"Did I ever meet you in the sunshine, and when we were about a thousand years away...

Did I ever hold you in the moonlight...Did we make every minute last another day...

On a cold December night, I gave my heart to you. And by the summer you were gone.

Now as the days grow older and the stars will start to dim.

All I have are memories and this song.

When will I see you again;

When will the sky start to rain;

When will the stars start to shine;

When will I know that you're mine..."

Getting comfortable with the stage, Cassandra pulled the 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 of them weren't particularly music maestros and didn't have picky ears.

His fingers followed Cassandra's flowing voice as he raised his head and gazed at her, his eyes brimming with love.

A delightful 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.

Amanda eyed them, completely sidelined.

"In that misty morning, I saw your smiling face…"

Cassandra sang the last verse softly. Her voice reverberated in the hall before it gradually trailed off.

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

Rufus and Cassandra still held each other's gaze. They looked like a perfect pair.

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

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

At the same time, the audience was quite astonished too. They could never have imagined Rufus to have the audacity to bring Cassandra on the stage, let alone kiss her in front of everyone. He had completely ignored Amanda, who had invited him to perform the duet.

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

There were people who pitied 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 how embarrassed Amanda was. The audience applauded, marking a perfect end to the charity dinner.

Amanda clenched her fists in anger, standing in the shade of the piano. Her face turned deadly pale, her eyes filled with cruelty and hatred. Original from NôvelDrama.Org.

This was the 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 battle of love.

However, she had 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.

At this point, people 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 the stage.

How could she accept that!

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

"How could you make me sing without any prior information! What if I had messed up! It would've been so shameful!"

Her eyes, her lips and the glow on her was alluring. Under the sparkling yellow light, she looked enchantingly beautiful.

"You wouldn't have messed up. I trust you."

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

Amanda followed every single move they made. She couldn't stand to see them being all lovey-dovey, standing so close together.

Unable to control her anger, she turned around and ran backstage. She was so furious that all colours drained out of her charming face. She could barely stand on her feet with ease.

Suddenly. she felt a small pair of arms supporting her, preventing her from collapsing.

Amanda looked up to find no one else but Michelle!

"Amanda, do you still want to be with Rufus?" asked Michelle.

Michelle was attending the charity dinner as the dressing consultant. However, all she had actually done was observe the peculiar happenings from the backstage. She actually didn't attend the event as an audience member.

Now, she stared coldly at the woman who had once been in love with Rufus. Even though she believed Amanda wasn't the best partner for Rufus, she was still better than Cassandra in every possible way.

If nothing else, she had a clear background, unlike Cassandra, who was a divorced woman. At least, Amanda hadn't been married to Rufus's brother.

Michelle eyed Amanda a little aggressively.

"Yes, I want to be with Rufus. All I want is to be with Rufus!"

Amanda asserted firmly and desperately, looking into Michelle's eyes with hope.

Her woman's instinct told her Michelle was an ally, and wanted to help her win the battle.

"Okay, go to the VIP room 6. I will tell Rufus to go there later. Cassandra is likely to follow."

Michelle cocked her eyebrows conspicuously. She wasn't particularly fond of Amanda. All she wanted was to use Amanda to kick Cassandra out of the way.

Amanda didn't hesitate for a single second before agreeing to Michelle's plan. Heeding her instructions, she quickly headed toward the VIP room.

After settling the business with Amanda, Michelle arranged a reporter to conduct a personal interview with Cassandra. Like she had planned, the reporter pulled Cassandra away from the crowd to ask her some questions.

At the same time, when Rufus was no where around Cassandra, he was suddenly approached by someone.

"Mr. Luo, Miss Ke was in VIP room 6. She isn't feeling too well. Since you are the organiser of the event, would you like to visit her and see what's wrong?"

Rufus raised his eye brows, genuinely taken in by the information.

He recalled Amanda was actually sick. Despite that, she had come to perform. Indeed, her performance had turned out to be the selling point of the event.

Plus, the performance assessment was Lionel's work. He had invited Amanda and changed the programme. 'Perhaps, he was trying to use Amanda against me, ' he thought.

"Alright, I will go see her. Thank you," Rufus said, nodding.

He glanced at Cassandra from a distance, who was still being interviewed.

'Well, it won't take long. I'll be back quickly, ' he thought and finished his drink in a single go. Bearing that thought in mind, he strode toward the room Amanda was in.

Cassandra's interview ended at the same time. "Miss Qin, thank you so much for this interview. I wish the best for Qin Group!"

The reported shook hands with Cassandra and left. She turned her head to look for Rufus, but couldn't find him.

She went to the spot where they had last talked and kept looking around. All she could see was some people clearing the stage and decorations in the hall. Rufus was no where to be seen.

"Miss Qin..." Someone approached her. "Mr. Luo has gone to VIP room 6. He has asked you to see him there," he continued.