"Lin Yuan!" Xia Zheng’s eyeballs almost popped out of his head, what with all that talk about rubbing her chest and tummy—she really dared to say it!
Lin Yuan gave him a cool glance and huffed, "Don’t you shout at me. I’m just thinking about it; whether I’ll do it or not still depends on you."
Xia Zheng was left speechless, his clenched fist slowly retracting into his sleeve as he fiercely glared at Ma Junying. Upon seeing someone’s almost shattered smile, Xia Zheng finally let out a breath of malice and triumphantly raised his eyebrows.
Lin Yuan had long been aware of the undercurrents between the two men, and it was precisely because of this she started to see Ma Junying in a different light. As the saying goes, only the spectator sees the game clearly. Xia Zheng wasn’t usually a hothead, but whenever it came to matters involving her, he couldn’t help losing his composure without realizing it. That expression on Ma Junying’s face just now was clearly meant to provoke him. Sigh, it seemed this gentleman, as gentle as jade, was not so innocent after all.
Fortunately, the negotiation about the cooperation with the Ma Family Head went very smoothly. They just had to wait for the New Year to pass, and then they could start as soon as Xia Zheng returned from the Capital City.
However, Ma family Manor originally only made bricks, and she wondered if they could flawlessly handle something as delicate as making type moldings. So, after discussing with Xia Zheng, Lin Yuan decided to commission someone to carve a batch of type moldings as samples. If there were any problems, they would have plenty of time to make it perfect, and that way, they could get straight to work when Xia Zheng came back.
With the matters in Zhuma Town nearly settled, it was time for Xia Zheng to return to the Capital City. Lao Fan had come to Zhuma Town to avoid some people in the Capital, so he would not be going back with Xia Zheng. In past years, the old man would spend New Year’s alone, but this year was different. With Lin Yuan’s family and his little apprentice Xiao Linshuang, there was no way they would let him spend the New Year alone in the desolate Fuman Building.
With Lin Yuan’s family taking care of Lao Fan, Xia Zheng’s last worry was gone. Travelling light, he didn’t bring anything with him. Still, Lin Yuan prepared some small gifts for him: various pastries she had made herself, and warm sleeves made of rabbit fur for Princess Anle.
Seeing the variously sized bags Lin Yuan had prepared, Xia Zheng laughed, "I’ve told you, I don’t need anything, yet you prepared all this. If I’d said just to bring something random, would you have stuffed the whole Zhuma Town into the carriage for me?"
Lin Yuan glared at him and muttered while loading the bags onto the carriage, "If your mother hadn’t met me, I wouldn’t bother preparing any of these things for you."
The implication was that since she had already met her future mother-in-law, she, as the future daughter-in-law, would be remiss if she didn’t bring some gifts. Besides, presenting gifts to the elders would make it smoother for her to visit them once she arrived in the Capital City. These gifts were just for paving the way.
Xia Zheng hadn’t thought that far, but when Lin Yuan was loading the last food box onto the carriage, he suddenly caught her tender little hand and, blowing a warm breath into her ear, teased with a sly smile, "Actually, you didn’t have to prepare so many gifts. Just packing yourself into the carriage would have been enough."
Lin Yuan’s cheeks flushed red, caught off guard by Xia Zheng’s public display of affection. She huffed and shook off his hand, glancing nervously around and whispered, "You, you should be the one packed into a food box and loaded onto the carriage!"
Lin Yi kept his face stern and subtly shifted his body to cover the two’s little escapade.
Looking at Lin Yuan’s rosy cheeks, Xia Zheng’s heart stirred. What if he didn’t want to leave? What if he wanted to take the little girl with