"Heavy snow promises a bountiful year! With such heavy snowfall, next year is certain to be a year of rich harvest!" Maybe influenced by Lin Yuan’s enthusiasm, Ma Junying’s face also showed a rare excitement. Such a gentle and polished gentleman, he reached out with both hands like a child to catch the increasingly large snowflakes.
"Indeed," Lin Yuan said, looking at his childlike behavior, she felt for the first time that Young Master Ma also had such a down-to-earth side. She turned with a smile to Ma Junying, then turned her head to watch the children excitedly running around in the courtyard.
For the children, the snowfall held no meaning of predicting a bountiful year; they were simply playing for the sake of enjoyment.
Old Mr. Cheng, after all, was advanced in years. Although the snow was not yet thick, he was already shivering a bit, tightening the thin jacket on his body. A flicker of joy passed across his weathered face: "It’s snowing, how wonderful!"
Several older children saw Old Mr. Cheng’s action, ran into the house, and brought out a thick cotton-padded jacket for him. Seeing the new quality of the thick jacket, which had not yet been worn, Lin Yuan glanced at Ma Junying, guessing that it must have been brought by Young Master Ma when he came over today.
Lin Yuan, appreciating his attentiveness and thoughtfulness, felt an increased fondness for the charming young gentleman.
Though the first snow was beautiful, staying outdoors in such weather for too long was indeed quite cold.
Lin Yuan involuntarily shivered, reluctantly letting the snowflakes she had caught in her hands fall. Indeed, her constitution was not strong enough; she had only been outside for a little while and was already trembling all over.
Seeing this, Ma Junying started to remove his own cloak.
"Miss Lin, on such a cold day, why didn’t you wear more clothes when you went out? If Miss does not dislike it, please use my cloak for now..."
Ma Junying hadn’t finished his sentence when he abruptly stopped, his remaining words stuck in his throat.
Because Lin Yi, who had been leisurely admiring the scenery from not far away, leaning against the carriage, had at some point moved swiftly to Lin Yuan’s side, holding a very luxurious cloak in his hand.
Ma Junying, holding up the cloak with both hands, became extremely stiff, as if he had been struck by the cold wind.
Lin Yi draped the cloak over Lin Yuan’s shoulders, and since he was a man, he couldn’t tie the cloak’s straps for her like a maid would have done. But even so, he showed no sign of leaving.
Watching Ma Junying’s petrified and dumbfounded expression in the cold wind, Lin Yi felt a rush of satisfaction. Hmph, it was good that the second Family Head had forethought, or else this Ma character might have taken advantage of the situation.
Whether he was deliberately trying to irritate Ma Junying or not, Lin Yi made a point of standing between Lin Yuan and Ma Junying: "Madam, the Family Head knew that the weather would change this morning when he left, and he personally placed this cloak in the carriage."
After speaking, Lin Yi even cast a sly glance at Ma Junying with his mischievous eyes.
Ma Junying, of course, sensed his hostility. He gave a self-deprecating smile, withdrew his hands, and did not attempt to drape the cloak over himself again.
Lin Yuan lowered her head and gently stroked the dark, lush fur collar on the cloak, wondering what kind of fur it was to be so soft and warm. Even pressed tightly against her neck, it wasn’t prickly in the slightest.
"This fur collar is nice, what kind of fur is it?"
Her question caught the smug Lin Yi off guard, causing his jaw to drop. He rolled his eyes silently. How could she be so clueless? Was this the moment to be concerned with the fur collar? Shouldn’t she be brimming with tears of gratitude for the Family Head’s thoughtful attention, or the constant care and consideration towards her?
Inwardly, though, Lin Yuan was very aware of Xia Zheng’s thoughtfulness. No wonder he had spent half of the morning staring at the sky, so engrossed that he hadn’t heard her call him several times.
"Dog fur!" Lin Yi said exasperatedly, casting Lin Yuan a glance before he confidently returned to the carriage. With such an unromantic and silly girl, surely she wouldn’t be stolen by that foolish horse. He might as well go back to minding the carriage.
Ma Junying couldn’t help but laugh at this remark. Dog fur? That was clearly superior black mink fur; such a luxurious item was not something the average person could obtain. The awkwardness of not having given her the cloak was dispelled by the distraction, but at this moment, Ma Junying felt even more disheartened by the disparity between himself and Xia Zheng.