Old Mr. Cheng’s murky eyes trembled faintly. This Meng Liangdong, he was very much like himself in his younger days.
But Ma Junying was very curious about him, "He is the accountant of Rice Flower Fragrance? Is he that tall, very meticulous man?"
Lin Yuan nodded, surprised that Ma Junying actually remembered Meng Liangdong.
Ma Junying nodded suddenly, sighing, "No wonder I felt he was different from the others. It turns out that he has such a past. If it’s really as you said, then this man is truly a pity."
But Old Mr. Cheng had come to terms with a lot, not knowing whether he was talking about himself or Meng Liangdong, "There’s nothing to pity. This young man is more enlightened than this old one. If back in the day I had half of his awareness, I wouldn’t have pursued fame and fortune for most of my life."
Lin Yuan and Ma Junying looked at each other. Although they could hear Old Mr. Cheng’s sense of release, it wasn’t hard to see the journey he took to reach this realization.
In the end, Lin Yuan bought the school. However, since Old Mr. Cheng had spent half a lifetime there and did not even have his own house, Lin Yuan let him continue to live there, and as long as he wished, he could teach the children at any time.
Since it was now close to the end of the year, waiting for the children to start school again would have to wait until after the New Year, at least not until after the Lantern Festival. So, Lin Yuan still had plenty of time to sort things out at the school.
After the children had sent the pastries back home, it wasn’t long before they all ran out again, gathering around Old Mr. Cheng to play. They said it was to play with him, but in truth, they were afraid he would be lonely, and they came over to keep him company.
Seeing their brilliantly smiling little faces, Lin Yuan’s heart felt a lot lighter.
Ma Junying stood behind and to the right of Lin Yuan, just in a position to see the side of her face brimming with smiles. He suddenly remembered the first time he saw her, standing quietly at the doorway, her face also full of smiles. But back then, the smiles were mostly out of courteous obligation, whereas now, they were genuinely from the heart.
Lin Yi, his arms folded, leaning against the carriage side, narrowed his eyes. This guy really was like an unyielding spirit; not only could he be seen in the shop, but unexpectedly, in such a remote place as the south of the city, they could meet again. Hmph, thankfully the second master wasn’t there today, otherwise, he’d make sure this guy couldn’t escape unscathed!
Lin Yi suddenly rolled his eyes, thinking that since the second master wasn’t here, did that mean the task of protecting the second young lady from being lured away by some man fell to him? Right, he had to keep a close watch. If that guy dared to touch a hair on their young lady, cautious of his own fingers!
Perhaps sensing Ma Junying’s gaze, Lin Yuan suddenly turned her head. Ma Junying was startled by her puzzled look and, feeling embarrassed, coughed twice while his cheeks involuntarily reddened.
He covered it well, and Lin Yuan didn’t feel anything unusual, laughing, "I haven’t seen Miss Ma at the store recently. Is she doing well?"
Hearing her mention his younger sister, Ma Junying couldn’t help but curve his lips into a smile, "Xiaonan? Well, it’s close to the end of the year, isn’t it? Father is afraid she’ll catch cold if she goes out, so she hasn’t been allowed to leave the house for quite some time. Miss Lin might not know this, but Father, fearing she’d be bored at home, hired a sister especially to teach her sewing, which has thoroughly annoyed her, and all day long, there’s nothing but complaints and sighs."
Before Ma Junying could finish, Lin Yuan’s laughter, like silver bells, already rang out, "Given Miss Ma’s temperament, she must be fretting every day, right?"
Lin Yuan wickedly imagined Ma Xiaonan with a gloomy little face, being lectured by a strict old sister on sewing, and it was worse because it was learning sewing, of all things. She wondered if the head of the Ma family didn’t understand his daughter’s temperament or was intentionally opposing her.
Ma Junying raised an eyebrow, looking at the joyfully laughing Lin Yuan, feeling that this woman was indeed unlike other women. If it were another woman hearing this, they would surely urge with numerous reminders the many benefits of learning sewing. Even if not said aloud, there would at least be some expression of sympathy for their own sister. Instead, she just laughed so openly, and he couldn’t feel any aversion—this woman was probably just like his own younger sister in her disdain for such rigid teaching!