Godfery Shaw was not accustomed to interacting with people, even less to having another person in the office.
Sophie could paint freely, but Godfery Shaw could not focus his attention.
He somewhat regretted agreeing to the interaction.
No matter how much she looked like Amelia, she wasn’t Amelia. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍
Sophie didn’t know that the person across from her regretted it on the very first day.
She genuinely wanted to cultivate a good father-daughter relationship and planned to paint a picture as a gift for their first meeting.
No one talked in the office; it was uncomfortably quiet.
It was so quiet that even Basil Smith felt uneasy. He hesitated again and again but still didn’t disturb them.
Now that the Young Madam had returned and didn’t seek out the elder master, she might be blaming him for his attitude toward Sophie over the years.
Thinking about it, it made sense. The Young Madam had risked her life to give birth to the child, and the elder master had wanted nothing to do with her. Now, it wouldn’t be strange for her to be angry after finding out.
Sophie’s appearance might have been orchestrated by the Young Madam.
Otherwise, why would Sophie not come for so many years, yet as soon as the Young Madam returned, she’d try to interact with the elder master?
Basil Smith could only hope that the elder master would quickly reflect! The Young Madam is watching you!
Basil Smith knew, but he dared not say it openly, fearing that the Young Madam would find out and it might cause more trouble.
He could only pray in his heart and not interfere.
As it neared noon, Sophie finished painting.
On the drawing paper, a fawn joyously bounded into the forest, the vibrant colors clashing with a pure, sincere honesty.
After finishing the painting, Sophie gently raised her eyes and peeked at Godfery Shaw with her large eyes.
In her heart, she thought, "He really is busy."
Even without looking, Godfery Shaw could feel that curious and frank gaze, and he frowned slightly.
No one had dared to stare at him so boldly in years.
Sophie kept silent until she raised her child’s watch to check the time and realized it was noon.
She called out, "Mr. Shaw, it’s noon. Time for lunch."
Hearing the innocent voice, Godfery Shaw didn’t even lift his head as he coldly replied, "If you want to eat, go outside and have the assistant order for you."
"Mr. Shaw, aren’t you eating?"
"But Grandpa says meals should be eaten on time, otherwise you’ll get sick. I asked Grandpa to make lunch boxes for both of us so we could eat together."
Sophie said this while she went to wash her hands. She retrieved her little backpack and walked over to Godfery Shaw’s desk.
She opened her small backpack and took out box after box of food, placing them on Godfery Shaw’s desk.
The lunchboxes had excellent thermal insulation, still warm when opened.
Sophie introduced each dish: "This is shredded pork in garlic sauce, this is steamed ribs with rice flour, and this is radish bone soup..."
Godfery Shaw didn’t even look and said sternly, "Take it away."
Sophie urged, "Grandpa’s cooking smells really good. Mr. Shaw, you should try it."
Her little hands held the soup up to him, and Godfery Shaw instinctively waved his hand.
The entire warm soup was knocked away by him, spilling onto the office floor with radishes scattered everywhere.
Godfery Shaw’s hand paused; it wasn’t intentional, just an instinctive reaction—he disliked anyone getting close.
With such an attitude, the child should probably leave in anger.
It would be good if she left; there was no need to maintain this unnecessary relationship.
Sure enough, Sophie turned around and walked out of the office, opening the door as she left.
However, the next moment, Godfery Shaw saw her come back, bringing along a cleaner.
The cleaner didn’t dare lift their head, quickly tidying up the spill on the floor.
Sophie said apologetically, "I wanted to grab a mop and clean it up myself, but this aunty wouldn’t let me."
After saying this, Sophie looked relieved and said, "It’s just spilled soup, nothing to worry about. We won’t have soup today, but the food is still fine, enough for us to eat. I can eat a bit less, no big deal."
She handed one of the larger lunchboxes to Godfery Shaw.
Facing that bright gaze, Godfery Shaw accepted the pink lunchbox.
Sophie beamed, "Eat up! It’s just spilled soup, no big deal. Don’t worry, Mr. Shaw, I’m a big person, I won’t get mad."
It was all home-cooked food, and it tasted pretty good.
Godfery Shaw didn’t even know why he was eating, perhaps to avoid seeing the child’s disappointed look.
When Basil Smith came in with a food cart, he saw the scene, turned around, and left without saying a word.
The cart was full of various luxurious lunches, but Basil Smith believed none could rival the aroma from that pink lunchbox.
The two, large and small, finished all the food.
After eating, Sophie cleaned up the dishes herself, placed them in her little bag, and was ready to leave.
Before leaving, she took the painting she had done in the morning and handed it to Godfery.
"This painting is for you, Mr. Shaw. Goodbye, I’m heading back now."
Godfery Shaw didn’t take it, but Sophie, regardless of whether he accepted it or not, just put it on his desk.
With her little backpack, humming a song, she happily left.
This child seemed to neither bear a grudge nor care about Godfery Shaw’s cold demeanor.
Godfery Shaw dialed Basil Smith’s number, "Follow her and make sure she gets home safely."
After Sophie left, Godfery Shaw still picked up the drawing paper.
He saw a little fawn.
The innocent world was so simple and clear.
The fawn was Sophie, and this forest was Godfery Shaw.
The fawn carried hope and joy, heading into the forest.
Is this the child’s inner world?
Godfery Shaw stared blankly at the painting in his hand, this was the child of him and Amelia.
That once seemingly unshakable heart, in just one morning, felt as if a small corner had been pried open.
But Godfery Shaw himself did not realize it.
Sophie returned to Ink Manor, where the family was waiting for her.
Normally, no matter how Sophie played around, even fighting, nobody was this anxious.
But Godfery Shaw was different; he could potentially cause psychological harm to the child, which made the whole family very worried.
Emma Lewis asked urgently, "Sophie, were you happy today? Did that person show you a cold face?"
Robert Reed was also a bit anxious, saying, "Godfery Shaw is naturally cold-faced, the same to everyone. If he was a bit indifferent, Sophie, there’s no need to be upset."
Nancy Allen didn’t write anything, just smoothed Sophie’s cowlick.
Surrounded by everyone, Sophie spoke, "The progress was smooth, we even had lunch together, but there’s an issue."
Robert Reed immediately got anxious, "What issue?"
Everyone was a bit nervous, fearing any big problem.
Because with other issues, they could help solve them for the child, but not with Godfery Shaw.
The next moment, Sophie beamed and said, "The problem is that I didn’t bring enough lunch; he ate too much! I wasn’t even full. Next time I go, Grandpa should make me more."
Emma Lewis chuckled, "Godfery Shaw actually took a child’s lunch!"
Robert Reed also laughed, "Alright, I’ll prepare more for you next time. Come on, there’s more to eat at home, I’ll heat it up for you now."
Nancy Allen gave Sophie a thumbs-up.
Looking at the child in front of them, thinking of Godfery Shaw, Nancy Allen smiled.
Thinking of what she just did, she wondered what Godfery Shaw’s reaction would be now.
Meanwhile, at Cloudglow Tower.
Godfery Shaw looked at the large bouquet of roses that had appeared on his desk, his expression uncertain.
"Basil Smith, come in!"