Insufficient balance

  Arriving home, Grandfather had already cooked dinner. Watching Grandfather carry the dishes to the table and sit down beside him, Muzhen felt that Grandfather seemed to have something to say to him.

  "Grandpa, I'm back." Musheng said happily.

  The old man said with a smile: "Grandson must be hungry, come and eat quickly!" Mu Sheng swiftly sat down on the wooden stool, picked up his chopsticks and started eating quickly. Having fought two battles today, his body's consumption was naturally very large.

  The old man saw Shuosheng's eating posture and laughed, saying: "Eat slowly, no one is competing with you, child." Shuosheng just opened his mouth to smile at the old man.

  The old man saw that it was useless to say anything, so he let Mu Sheng be.

  Musheng ate quickly and a lot, patted his own bulging belly, feeling that he had eaten enough. So he stood up and said: "Grandpa, I'm full, you eat slowly, I'll go back to my room first."

  The old man saw Mu Sheng wanting to return to his room and hastily put down his bowl and chopsticks, saying: "Grandson, don't hurry back to your room, Grandpa wants to tell you something."

  Musheng heard the old man had something to say to him, so he stopped and said: "Grandpa, go ahead! I'm listening!"

  The old man coughed a few times and said: "Grandson, Grandpa has arranged a marriage for you, the wedding will be in three days."

  Upon hearing this, Mu Sheng was stunned. He had not expected the old man to be talking about this matter with him. However, he himself did not plan on getting married, and now the old man had given him a difficult problem to deal with.

  "Grandpa, I don't want to get married for now, so cancel the wedding tomorrow!"

  The old man heard what Shuosheng said and angrily said, "How dare you! When a man grows up, he should get married, and when a woman grows up, she should get married. There's no such thing as not getting married. Don't say such things again in the future."

  Mo Sheng was also enraged by the old man's scolding, as a modern person, he couldn't accept being married to someone he had never met before, and it would be in just three days. This made Mo Sheng very indignant, so he also spoke loudly: "You want to get married, you get married, anyway I won't get married." After finishing speaking, he walked towards his own room.

  The old man didn't expect Muyoung to be so angry, his body shook, and he suddenly looked much older.

  Mu Sheng turned back to glance at the old man at the corner of the house door, and suddenly felt that the old man had aged a lot more. Those dull eyes made Mu Sheng's nose sour.

  At this time, Muzhen thought of the segment "Chat Qiu's Fox Fairy" he saw at his neighbor's house in junior high school. The word "home" seemed to weigh a thousand pounds on Muzhen's body. At this time, the old man muttered to himself: "Grandson, do you know that Grandpa doesn't want you to follow in Grandpa's footsteps? Isn't life just for a home?"

  "Isn't life all about having a family?" This sentence hit Mu Sheng's head hard. If one doesn't even have a family, what's the point of living? Forget it, forget it, I'll just go along with the old man's idea! So he said to the old man: "Grandpa, I agree with you." After saying this, Mu Sheng went back to his room.

  The old man heard what Shuosheng said and replied: "Good, good, good". As he spoke, the corners of his eyes sparkled with tears.

  This night, Mu Sheng was destined to be sleepless. Lying in bed, Mu Sheng thought to himself, looking at how he could no longer do as he pleased in the future. Since he had married her, no matter what she was like, he should take responsibility for her. Having a family wasn't a bad thing for him either; at least he had a sense of belonging now. Once he understood this point, Mu Sheng also fell asleep peacefully.

  For the next three days, Mu Sheng and Lao Tou were busy with wedding preparations. During this time, Wen Hao came once to confirm the matter with Mu Sheng and then left in a hurry. Lao Tou was overjoyed, smiling every day, and looked much younger.

  This day, Mu Sheng put on the groom's attire and early in the morning led people to the Li family to welcome his bride. Grandfather said that the girl was named Li Xiangling, a gentle and virtuous woman.

  When he arrived at the Li's house, Mu Sheng felt no festive atmosphere. The sedan chair was waiting outside, and the main gate of the Li's house was tightly closed. No one answered even when called out. Having no choice, Mu Sheng could only wait outside. After a while, two people walked out from the door. One of them wore a wedding dress, and the other was a young girl who supported the bride as they walked towards the sedan chair. As soon as they stepped out of the gate, it closed with a loud "bang".

  At this time, Mu Sheng didn't know what to say, looking at the Li family's house which didn't seem like a poor household. He had never seen such a cold and quiet wedding before. With many questions in his mind, Mu Sheng took the bride back home.

  The old man had no relatives, so there weren't many people who came. However, the neighbors from around the area all came. The eldest sister didn't come, but Wen Hao did, and he drank some wine with Mu Sheng before leaving. "Looking at Wen Hao's expression, it seems like he has something on his mind," Mu Sheng thought to himself.

  Everyone who came has left, and those who came to help have also left. Mu Sheng, the old man, and Xiaolu, a young maid who accompanied the bride, began to clean up the dishes. Seeing that Xiaolu was only 14 or 15 years old, Mu Sheng felt a pang of sympathy and said: "Xiaolu, you go rest! It's okay with just me and Grandpa."

  "Young master, Xiao Lu can go, Xiao Lu is not tired." said Xiao Lu with a raised mouth.

  Seeing Xiao Lü's persistence, Mu Sheng could only smile and say no more. After finishing everything, the old man and Xiao Lü both returned to their rooms to rest.

  Mo Sheng walked into the room with some tension, and on the bed under the red canopy sat a bride wearing a red veil. She was sitting there motionless, but when she heard Mo Sheng's footsteps, her body trembled slightly, and her two small hands were tightly clasped together.

  Mo Sheng walked slowly towards the bride, came to the front, Mo Sheng could see that the bride's body was shaking, stretched out both hands, Mo Sheng gently lifted the veil, revealing a rosy cheek, the bride looked no less beautiful than the eldest sister, with a slender waist and delicate limbs, everything was so perfect.

  But when Mu Sheng saw the bride's right cheek, his heart trembled. Why did heaven treat such a beautiful girl like this? Why leave a black scar on her right cheek? Mu Sheng's heart was deeply shocked, and he silently gazed at the bride.

  The bride seemed to feel Mu Sheng's gaze, slowly raised her head and looked at Mu Sheng with a cold tone: "You're very disappointed, aren't you?" Her voice was as melodious as the song of the oriole.

  The bride didn't hear any echo after she spoke, so she lifted her head again and found that Mu Sheng's eyes were shining with tears. Unconsciously, a tear fell onto the bride's cheek, and the bride asked strangely: "Are you okay?"

  At this time, Mu Sheng finally came back to his senses. To cover himself up, Mu Sheng turned around and walked to the table, saying: "Nothing's wrong." After finishing speaking, Mu Sheng picked up the wine jug on the table, poured two cups of wine, took the two cups of wine to the bride's side and said: "Wife, let's drink a cup of cross-cupped wine!"

  The bride looked at Mu Sheng with suspicion, but when she met his pitiful gaze, the bride still took over the wine cup. After the two drank the cross-cupped wine, Mu Sheng put the wine cup back on the table.

  After drinking the cross-cup wine, the bride still said coldly: "You don't despise me"

  "Then why should I despise him?"

  When Mu Sheng said this, the bride did not speak. Mu Sheng saw no sound and slowly said: "No matter how beautiful a person is, what can they do after decades? A person's face will age with the passage of time, but a person's heart can be young for a long time. What I care about is not your appearance, but your heart, a kind heart."

  After listening to Mu Sheng's words, the bride was stunned. She never thought that the person she married would have a different view from others. The bride stared blankly at Mu Sheng like this.

  Mo Sheng sat beside the bride, seeing her staring blankly at him, and said: "Wife, it's late at night, we should also rest." The bride heard Mo Sheng say this, her face turned red with shyness, but she was still a little excited in her heart. She didn't expect that her husband wouldn't despise her, so she should do her duty as a wife well too. So she said softly: "Husband, I'll help you undress."

  Mo Sheng heard her say that, knowing she no longer suspected herself, so he let it go. After the bride helped Mo Sheng change into comfortable clothes, she also took off her own wedding dress. The two of them slept together in their undergarments, and Mo Sheng could smell the girl's subtle fragrance wafting up to his nose. At the same time, their bodies would occasionally touch, causing them both to jump back in surprise. The two inexperienced young people were so tense they didn't know what to do, neither of them daring to speak directly.

  The red mosquito net looked crimson in the candlelight, neither of them had fallen asleep, each lost in their own thoughts, the atmosphere was somewhat solemn.

  To break the silence, Mu Sheng had no choice but to find a topic and ask: "Wife, what is your maiden name?"

  "The bride heard Shuosheng ask her and softly said: 'My surname is Li, my name is Xiangling.'"

  "Xiangling, hmm, this name isn't bad. That, wife, now that we're husband and wife, shouldn't..."

  Xiang Ling heard Mu Sheng's words and couldn't help but understand his meaning. With a blush, she whispered: "Everything will be done according to your wishes, sir. Please just spare some pity for me." After finishing speaking, she lay down with her eyes closed. Actually, Mu Sheng had said those things for a reason. If he didn't make love to her tonight, she would definitely feel unwell in her heart. Otherwise, with his thick skin, he wouldn't have said such words.

  When Mu Sheng heard Xiang Ling's response, he followed the way his high school classmates had talked about men and women, and gently kissed Xiang Ling's lips. With her eyes closed, Xiang Ling was initially at a loss, but after a while, she actively responded, and at this moment, Xiang Ling also gave her heart to Mu Sheng.