Chapter 87 Met Dn Again
This had to be the most embarrassing moment of Cassandra''s life. All the board members were staring
at her. A deadly awkwardness went through her body and she felt like everyone was analyzing her.
''This couldn''t get any worse, '' she thought.
And worse of all, Rufus noticed it too. This was a big blow to her confidence.
"I have no idea as to why this design is simr to mine. But I''ll look into it until I figure out what the truth
is, I promise!" exined Cassandra.
Her exnation had no impact on those present. The board member who had spoken earlier screamed
at her angrily, "How can they be so simr if you didn''t giarize? That project is ahead of yours! Look
into it? What will you look into? Truth is in front of our eyes, so please don''t try to fool us. Don''t try to
find any excuses anymore. Just admit what you''ve done!"
This insult came as a surprise and Cassandra tried hard to stop herself from crying. She had no clue
how to respond at this moment.
Whatever she would say would be in vain. Indeed, the bottom line was that the project had already
begun in H City. ZC Group discovered the mistake hence it was reasonable for them to reject and
return her design. Undoubtedly, they had asked forpensation. However, she knew this wasn''t a
mistake from her side. She was being set up by someone. She knew she didn''t steal someone''s work
but had no idea how to convince everyone of her innocence.
Cassandra knew that she was not a design genius, but she was diligent enough. She had achieved her
reputation through her hard work. But now she was being wrongly used. ''How can I stand this
injustice?'' she wondered. Normally, she was a kind and forgivingdy, but when it came to her work,
she was pretty serious. Swallowing her grief, she was determined to punish the person who had set her
up.
Cassandra clenched her fist and stayed without uttering a word. Never before had she experienced
such a public humiliation. A lump was rising in her throat which made her feel like crying. But she did
everything in her power to hold back the tears since she knew showing her weakness would do nothing
but to embarass her more.
Seeing Cassandra standing there helplessly, Rufus had the urge to help her. However, he controlled
himself because helping her in front of these board members who were as sly as the foxes would make
his emotions too obvious. And it would only create more problems for Cassandra.
"Well, I have a n now. Why don''t you take your annul leave, Manager Qin? You shall look into the
matter and give us a satisfying exnation. As far as we know, ZC Group has not filed awsuit
against us. To make things easier and quicker, I will send some men to investigate it as well. And guys,
If Manager Qin is genuinely wronged, I''m sure the truth wille out eventually," said Rufus, trying to
stop everyone from using Cassandra.
Cassandra immediately understood that Rufus had said those words to buy her more time. Earlier, she
felt alone but his help made her feel truly thankful. She cast him a nce which indirectly meant thank
you.
On the other hand, Rufus''s words indeed subdued the situation. The board members decided not to
push Cassandra too hard. They sighed, stood up and left the meeting room.
When everyone went away, Rufus signaled Leo to leave him and Cassandra alone. Obliging Rufus,
Leo closed the door and left along with the others.
The moment the door was shut, Cassandra''s tears started to flow. She could not hold them anymore.
In front of Rufus, she had no fear of showing her vulnerability.
She squatted down, grabbed her knees, put her head into her arms and started sobbing sadly.
Watching the scene in front of him, Rufus felt a sudden pain surge in his heart. It felt as if he was being
pricked by a needle. He hated seeing her look so miserable.
Now that everyone was gone, he had no intention to staying away from her. He stood up, walked to her
and squatted beside her. For a moment, he watched her cry. Slowly, he stretched his hands and held
her. In a forbearing tone, he said, "It''s okay. Don''t cry. I don''t know about the rest but I trust you! At the
moment, our priority is to find out how this happened. I can tell something is definitely fishy."
Cassandra raised her eyes and looked to Rufus through her tears. His words encouraged her to take
some actions.
''Yes, I shouldn''t be crying and sitting over here. This won''t change anything! I didn''t make any mistake
then why should I be wailing? It''s time to do something about it!'' she said inwardly.
Rufus had shut out the critics and appointed her as the designer of a major design task along with this
case. Due to this, she had to devote most of her time and energy to the other case. Hence the design
for ZC Group was less urgent and did not make great progress. However, she did notpletely leave
it behind. In spite of her busy schedule, she worked on this design from time to time. Even though it
wasn''t her best work, it still had her effort in it.
''What went wrong?'' she contemted. Only after the party at which Lionel and Ivy''s indecent video
was leaked, could she devote all her time and effort on this design.
Slowly, Cassandra started to recall incidents and started filling Rufus with the details. Rufus, on the
other hand, listened patiently as she spoke. Not a single word was ignored by him and he made it a
point not to interrupt her. After she was done, a dead drop silence fell into the office. For a while, they
both were left in thoughts. Frowning, he asked, "Have you ever shown this design to anyone else?"
Cassandra thought carefully for a few seconds and then shook her head.
"I know what you are hinting. But I don''t think our people did it. No one would show theirpany''s
confidential information to others."
Rufus pondered over her words and nodded in agreement. Somehow he believed there wasn''t a
betrayer inside the design department. Otherwise, other projects would have encountered tons of
difficulties. The ZC Group project was not a key project. Should there be a betrayer, it would make no
sense to choose such an insignificant case to destroy her reputation.
"I think you should take some rest for a few days. I''ll deal with the rest," Rufus said, trying to cate
Cassandra''s mood.
Cassandra nodded but after giving it a second thought, her mind went nk. ''Rest for some days?
Where can I stay to take rest? And how?'' she thought worriedly.
Rufus immediately realized the reason behind her confusion and helplessness. Aforting smile was
shown on his face.
"I saw Michelle''s assistante here this morning. Didn''t she send you an invitation? You can make
some preparations and go. Being alone is boring, anyway."
Rufus knew that he was unable to apany her this time because he had to go to H City. Over there,
he had to check how things were going with the ZC Group.
"Yeah. Thanks."
Cassandra nodded obediently. She reached out and wiped off the tears from her face. In slow steps,
she left the office.
''Who on earth is doing this to me? Someone had nned and set this vicious trap for me. The intention
was to use me of giarism and it worked! Obviously, that person must have thought I would get
expelled from the designing circle because of this. giarism is considered a taboo in this field.
If I do nothing then people will assume I am guilty. Not only will I have to pay the whopping
compensation, but also my reputation will be scarred forever, '' said Cassandra in her mind.
All these years, Cassandra had been treating her job withplete seriousness. Her goal was to
be one of the best designers in this field. This wronged usation would bring shame to her
career. And this was something she couldn''t afford.
''Who could this person possibly be?'' wondered Cassandra, racking her brain. Secretly, Cassandra
swore to make that person pay for his dirty deed.
On the way back home, Cassandra was still lost in her thoughts. She was so lost that she even forgot
to turn on the corneringmp when her car turned. She seemed to be blind to the road in front of her.
Her mind was busy reying everything that happened in this awful day.
Deep down, she knew she had topose herself. This absentmindedness was extremely dangerous.
What happened next proved the risk of her carelessness. When she turned to a corner, her car rear-
ended the vehicle in front because she was too careless to hit the brake on time.
The loud vibration and noise snapped her back to the reality. She got off the car abruptly to check the
damage she had caused.
Her little car had bumped into the car that was in front of hers. On top of that, the rear of that car was a
little dented. The driver inside the other car also got out. Now Cassandra was beginning to panic. She
kept apologizing to him for the unfortunate ident. It was her fault and she was willing to take
responsibility for it.
"Sorry, I''m so sorry. This is my mistake. I''ll call the insurance!"
While she was apologetically speaking, a familiar voice replied her with a smile.
"Hi, Miss Deer. Here we meet again!"
Cassandra raised her head from the dented car and looked at the master of this voice. A bright and
handsome man in casual clothes was standing right before her. He looked about thirty and his eyes
looked like crescent when he smiled. His expression made him look like an easy-going man. People
would never feel ufortable around him. In fact, something about him put them at ease.
''What did he just call me now? Miss Deer?'' wondered Cassandra confusedly.
After thinking for a few seconds, it clicked her where she had heard itst time. This special name took
her back to the afternoon on a snowy day. ''Yes, I remember it! A man with a beard saved me once, ''
she thought with relief washing over her.
He saved her life! In her mind, this man was the symbol of kindness and warmth whose smile was as
brilliant as the fireworks.
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"Gosh, this is the worst way of meeting someone again! Especially that you''ve saved me, but now I
broke your car,"
Cassandra said, looking apologetic. She realized something bad could have happened if she continued
being so careless. ''What if I had killed someone?''
On the other hand, the man kept smiling and Cassandra couldn''t detect any sort of anger in that
friendly face. In truth, the car was thest thing on his mind to worry about. He was still lost in the
happiness of being reunited with Cassandra.
"We seem to meet every time you are in a worrying state. This is what people call fate!" he said
jokingly.
They looked into each other''s eyes and thenughed all of a sudden. Cassandra felt herself forget
about the events of the day. At least for the time being her mood was lifted.
Soon, the insurancepany staff came over there and took some photos of the damage that was
caused. They had some files which had to be signed. Once that was done, they towed away their cars.
With a sorry looking face, Cassandra asked, "Once again I am sorry about this. Why don''t you have
dinner with me? Don''t bother fighting because this one is on me. What would you prefer? A traditional
dinner or a Western one?"
The man looked at her and replied in a gentle tone, "It depends on you. I''m fine with either."
Cassandra thought for a few seconds and a great idea popped into her head. Yet she thought it was
necessary to ask his opinion before selecting a ce.
"I know a restaurant where they serve pretty good steak. What do you think?" she asked eagerly.
The man smiled and asked, "Are you referring to the one in CBD? It''s too expensive. If yes, am I
allowed to change the destination? How about we go to the beach for a barbecue?"
At first, Cassandra was a little puzzled to hear he had refused her proposal. But soon she realized that
he said it only because he didn''t want her to spend too much on him. As a man, he did not want the
woman to buy him an expensive dinner.
She was somewhat touched by his considerate behavior. This guy was indeed careful, sensible and
sweet. Somehow, Cassandra felt veryfortable being around him.
The wind was strong by the sea. The fact that it was winter made things worse. Sitting outside for the
barbecue was definitely not a good choice.
Hence they went inside. The man selected a dining table by the window which seemed like the perfect
ce. Now they could enjoy the dinner as they relished the beautiful campfire scene which was
happening outside.
"What would you like, Cassandra?"
He casually asked while his eyes were glued on the menu. Just when she was about to answer, she
found herself shocked. ''How did he know my name?'' she thought, looking startled.
Since he didn''t get a reply, the man raised his head and looked at her. A beautiful smile appeared on
his face as he noticed her confusion. Even though she was surprised, his smiling crescent eyes made
her feel warm and peaceful.
"You gave me your name card. Don''t you remember?"
She bit her tongue and passed him an awkward smile. In truth, that incident had almost slipped out of
her mind. Hesitantly, Cassandra said, "I... May I know you name, please?"
The man''s deep eyes looked at her with concentration. After a moment, he replied in a serious tone,
"Name is simply a code. You can call me whatever you like. My friends call me Delight."
"Haha!"
Cassandra couldn''t help but let out a loudugh as she heard his reply. But at the same time, she didn''t
want to sound rude. Therefore she reached out to cover her mouth with a hand and exined in a
hurry, "I''m sorry... I wasn''tughing at your name!"
Seeing her acting so funny, the man did not feel offended at all. Instead he burst into a heartyughter
and replied, "I''m Dn Tong. But you can call me Delight. I''m serious!"
Now Cassandra decided not to hold back herughter. Sheughed out happily. ''Dn Tong? Delight?
Haha now that is a funny name! But yes, he is just like his name. He makes people feel delightful, '' she
agreed in her mind. Slowly, she nced at him and passed him her sweetest smile.
Outside the window, the waves were beating against the shore and the fire was burning. But inside the
restaurant, the air was so warm and soothing. There was something about the atmosphere here that
made people forget all about their sorrows.