Chapter 549 Can’t Let Dad Hate Me

• Casper Frost walked out of the office with Rhea in his arms, his mood slowly settling. Holding this kid made it easier to calm down. Honestly, it wasn’t that big a deal. Rhea kept watching her dad’s face. When she saw him relax, she lit up too. Dad was holding her again, so she chirped, “Da… uh, Uncle, where are we going?” Casper’s eyelid twitched. “What did you just call me?” He told himself he needed to learn how to deal with kids anyway. If Little Darling had a daughter, maybe she’d be just like this child. If she really wanted to call him Dad and Shawn Lawson didn’t mind, he could let it slide. But Rhea figured Dad didn’t know who she was and might get mad, so she switched fast: “Uncle, where are we going?” Casper frowned. It felt like someone invited you to dinner, you said yes, then they canceled. Left a sour taste. He said coldly, “Weren’t you hungry? We’ll go eat.” Casper didn’t have some fancy meal sent up. He took Rhea to the cafeteria. The Frost Corporation cafeteria wasn’t worse than big restaurants outside—mostly because Ironstone was in the company now. After bringing Ironstone into the company, Casper ate lunch with him in the cafeteria every day. Ironstone was a straight shooter. Office politics were messy. Casper didn’t spell out instructions or give him special help. He just ate with him every noon, and everyone in Frost Corporation knew how to behave. Because of that, once Ironstone joined, he could focus on learning goldwork from his master in peace. Nobody bothered him. Casper carried Rhea into the cafeteria. The cafeteria had private rooms. Ironstone leaned out of one doorway, spotted Casper, and waved hard. “Bro, bro, over here.” Casper walked over. Ironstone saw Rhea and his eyes went wide. After staring for a few seconds, he grinned. “Bro, when did Sis come back?” Casper froze. “Rock, what are you talking about? She didn’t come back.” Ironstone scratched his head. “But Rhea’s right here. How could Sis not be back?” Rhea’s heart jumped. Who was this uncle? Why did he know her? Casper explained, “She’s Shawn Lawson’s daughter. Her name is Star.” Ironstone’s honest gaze landed on Rhea. No matter how he looked, she was Rhea. She looked just like Bro. How could she be someone else’s kid? Ironstone was single-minded and just couldn’t wrap his head around it. He looked at Rhea and asked, “Your name is Star?” Rhea nodded. That was her real name anyway. Not lying. Ironstone wanted to keep asking, but Casper cut him off. “Alright, let’s eat. Go buy a few things kids can eat.” Casper had loaded plenty of money onto Ironstone’s meal card. Usually, when Casper got busy, Ironstone would buy lunch early. Thrown off track, Ironstone blurted, “Oh, right—okay, I’ll grab more.” Soon, Ironstone picked out soft, mild food. After he sat down, he kept staring at Rhea. Maybe because his mind was simple, he saw things differently—and recognized Rhea in one glance. But Casper, the one in the middle of it all, had never let his thoughts go there. As for anyone else, even if they thought Rhea looked like Casper, they wouldn’t dare say it to his face. Rhea really was hungry. At home, she’d usually have milk and some fruit around ten in the morning. Today she hadn’t had anything. She picked up the fork and poked at the potato a few times, but couldn’t pick anything up. She’d fallen earlier and hurt her right hand. It was wrapped in gauze and still hurt. Ironstone tensed up watching her and blurted, “Bro, you’re just gonna let her feed herself?” Casper didn’t get it. He turned and saw the little thing poking at the potato with the fork. She was still little and didn’t know how to use a fork. But she didn’t cry or fuss. She didn’t want Dad to dislike her, so she tried hard to learn. Ironstone said quickly, “Bro, she’s still small. See? She can’t even use a fork. And what happened to her hand?” Casper frowned, only then remembering her hand was still hurt. Rhea looked up, her tiny face stubborn and brave. “My hand doesn’t hurt.” A child this small, this well-behaved—it didn’t seem real. In Ironstone’s world, village kids were always messy, always crying and yelling. None were this clever or sweet. He still felt like she was Sis’s daughter. He’d met Shawn before—that scatterbrained man could never raise a kid this obedient. The kid looked like Bro, but her bright eyes were like Sis’s. One look, and she was a heart-melter. But Bro didn’t admit it, so Ironstone didn’t dare push. He just slid all the tasty dishes in front of Rhea, anxious to help but not sure how. Casper sighed inside, picked up the bowl, and fed a kid for the first time in his life. When Rhea saw the food held up to her mouth, her eyes lit up like stars. She opened wide and ate like an angel. Casper had no idea what kids could eat or how much they could handle. He fed her all the potato in the bowl and a good amount of veggies and meat too. Rhea was already full, but it was Dad’s first time feeding her. She had to be good. Eat well. Listen well. Don’t cry even if you fall. Dad didn’t really love her, and she couldn’t make him hate her. That would make Mom sad. Ironstone watched for a long time and finally couldn’t help himself. “Bro, I think she might not be able to eat any more…” Casper—rarely so serious—asked, “Yeah? You full?” Rhea hiccuped. Ironstone nodded. “She’s probably full.” Casper finally set the fork down. The three of them ate. Over at Frost Mansion, Grandpa couldn’t relax. He dragged Hua Guangming to sneak over to Frost Corporation. Hua Guangming was so fed up he almost felt like killing someone. Grandpa said with righteous fury, “You promised to keep an eye on Star for Rhea. Look at Casper—does that kid look like he can take care of a child? What if something happens?” Hua Guangming sighed. “Fine, fine, let’s go!” When the two old men got to Frost Corporation, Casper and the other two had already finished eating. Ironstone went back to work. Casper took Rhea back to the office. He still had things to do that afternoon, so he had Assistant Song bring in some toys and picture books. The kid had nothing all morning and still stayed put. Now she had toys and books, so she played quietly without a sound. Casper thought maybe taking care of a kid wasn’t so hard. Just as he was thinking that, Rhea started to feel uncomfortable. Maybe she’d eaten too much. The room was a little warm too. She held it in, not wanting to bother Dad. But now she really couldn’t. She wanted to call for him. As soon as she opened her mouth, she gagged and threw up. Casper popped up from his chair in a flash. Right then, Grandpa and Hua Guangming knocked and walked in.