Insufficient balance

  She was held in Duan Yulan's arms, and Mu Sheng felt very uncomfortable. Those two large buns were suffocating him, making it hard for him to breathe, and his hands didn't know where to go either. Seeing that Duan Yulan wasn't letting go, Mu Sheng had no choice but to speak up: "Sister, please let go, I...I'm going to run out of air."

  When Duan Yulan heard Mu Sheng's words, she seemed to realize that something was wrong and relaxed. Seeing Mu Sheng's face flushed red, Duan Yulan felt happy in her heart. With a younger brother like this, her future life wouldn't be so lonely after all. But where did this younger brother live now? So she asked: "Younger brother, where do you live in Qingzhou City?"

  "Oh, I just arrived in Qingzhou City today." Mu Sheng said with a deep breath.

  "That's good, I'll let Xue'er clean up the storage room later, you can stay here for now!" Duan Yulan said with a concerned expression.

  "Thanks, sis!" Mu Sheng said with a smile.

  "Don't be polite with your sister, come on, little brother, accompany your sister for a walk." Duan Yulan said, then pulled Suo's sleeve.

  "Oh!" Murong Sheng replied, but was somewhat uncomfortable as Duan Yulan pulled on his sleeve.

  The door opened and Xiaoxue ran over to ask: "Miss, are you okay?"

  This question was asked, and Mu Sheng involuntarily rolled his eyes. Xiao Yatou glared at Mu Sheng fiercely, but Duan Yulan smiled and said: "Xue Er, I'm fine. Oh, by the way, Mu Sheng is now my brother, so you should call him Young Master from now on, got it?"

  When Xiaoxue heard Duan Yulan say that Mosheng was her younger brother, she was puzzled. When did the young lady have a younger brother? I didn't know, but now I'm supposed to call this ordinary-looking guy "young master". This guy doesn't look like a young master at all, his clothes are simple and not luxurious, he can't show off the appearance of a young master, his face is average, his hair is messy, and his hat is crooked. It's hard to believe that someone like him can be called "young master". However, since the young lady said so, Xiaoxue still followed her orders, as she was well aware of the young lady's temper, who always got what she wanted.

  Xue'er bowed and said, "Snow has seen the young master," but it sounded a bit forced. Mu Sheng looked somewhat embarrassed and hastily said, "No need to be polite, Little Snow."

  "Xue Er, go get your luggage from the storage room, and for now, you'll be living in this house," said Duan Yulan to Xiao Xue.

  "Alright, miss, I'll go now." After saying that, Xiaoxue ran off quickly.

  Musheng was pulled by Duan Yulan to the back garden, seemingly aware of something being off, Duan Yulan's face slightly flushed as she let go, the two walked along the artificial hill to the edge of a small pond, although the Duan estate wasn't some grand aristocratic family, this back garden was quite unique.

  Duan Yulan walked beside Mu Sheng and asked: "Younger brother, what are your plans from now on?"

  "I guess I should just help out at the Zhao's from now on. That's probably how it'll be for the rest of my life." Mu Sheng said calmly.

  "Don't you ever think of going out and making a career for yourself?" asked Duan Yulan.

  "No, I don't have any great ambitions, I just want to live a simple life with my wife and children."

  "Why would you think that? As a young person in the 21st century, I think we should all be optimistic!" Duan Yulan said with some puzzlement.

  Upon hearing Duan Yulan's puzzled words, Mu Sheng slowly said in the gentle breeze: "I don't think I can explain it well either. As for worldly fame and wealth, I've always taken a dim view of them. Originally, when I came here, I didn't plan on getting married. My intention was to wait until Grandfather passed away, then I would travel the world. Later, because of Grandfather, I still agreed to it and got married. Now that I'm married, I must take responsibility for it. However, I don't want to fight for power or wealth; being a second-generation person, my heart sees through things more clearly. The most beautiful thing in life is to spend one's whole life with family, while fame and wealth are just fleeting clouds - why bother chasing after them?"

  "You really have the demeanor of a recluse," said Duan Yulan with a smile.

  "This will make sister laugh." Murong said with embarrassment.

  "Hehe, let's not talk about that for now, why don't we go sit in the pavilion?" suggested Duan Yulan.

  "Good." Mu Sheng responded with a sound.

  Two people sat on the stone bench in the pavilion, each lost in their own thoughts. As fellow townspeople, they had a certain dependence on each other; after all, only the two of them could share their innermost thoughts with each other here. A gentle breeze blew by, lifting a strand of Duan Yulan's hair, which covered her eyes. She lightly brushed it away and looked at Mu Sheng sitting across from her, seeing that his gaze was fixed on some distant point, unmoving. His heart seemed very calm, and Duan Yulan couldn't help but think so.

  As she recalled what Mu Sheng had said, Duan Yulan felt a pang in her heart. She thought about how hard she used to strive, but now felt somewhat lost and seemed to have lost her drive. Thinking about Mu Sheng's words, when she finally achieved her goals, what would she get? Was it wealth, or a powerful husband? What significance did these things hold for her anyway? Moreover, in this world where men had multiple wives and concubines, and favored the new over the old, what would she face when her beauty faded with age? Thinking about all this, Duan Yulan felt a wave of fear wash over her, feeling as though she had lost her sense of security.

  When her eyes fell on Mu Sheng again, Duan Yulan couldn't help but think, could he be someone she could rely on? She didn't know, and at this moment, Duan Yulan was still uncertain. However, in this world, perhaps only he could be trusted. Thinking back to the first time he looked at her, which only lasted a few seconds, Duan Yulan had reason to believe that he wasn't a lecher. But as for relying on him, Duan Yulan couldn't do it yet, and definitely not now.

  All along, the man Duan Yulan had dreamed of was supposed to be a capable and handsome man who could do great things, but Mu Sheng didn't meet any of these criteria. He just wanted to live an ordinary life, and he only had an ordinary appearance. Duan Yulan's heart couldn't help but feel very confused, she didn't know what she really wanted anymore. If it were in the past, that would be easy to handle, but now it was different. Taking a deep breath, Duan Yulan calmed herself down.

  The two of them sat quietly like this until a maid came to remind them that it was time for lunch, and Duan Yulan went with Mosheng to eat.

  The lunch was sumptuous, but there were only two people, Mu Sheng and Duan Yulan. At the dinner table, Duan Yulan kept serving dishes to Mu Sheng, who was initially a bit reserved, but later relaxed.

  "Eat and live together in Hunyuan City, it's more lively there, you're alone here, it's a bit lonely."

  Duan Yulan did not immediately respond to Mu Sheng, but instead said: "I'll consider it, little brother. How about accompanying me to go shopping this afternoon?"

  "Window shopping!" Mu Sheng exclaimed in surprise, he had heard from his classmates before that accompanying a woman to go window shopping was more painful than being stabbed.

  Jian Mu Sheng looked surprised, Duan Yu Lan asked: "Younger brother, don't you want to?"

  "No, no, it's my pleasure to accompany sister to go shopping, how could I be unwilling?" Mu Sheng said with a smile.

  "You're quite eloquent," said Duan Yulan with a smile.

  After the two finished their meal, they took a short rest and then brought Xiaoxue to the streets of Qingzhou City. They went to this store and that store, looking around. Duan Yulan kept haggling with the shop owners, while Mu Sheng now knew how terrible it was to accompany women shopping. He could only stand at the door, pacing back and forth.

  When the three of them arrived at a jewelry store, Mu Sheng thought to himself, why not buy a piece of jewelry to bring back for Ling'er? So he picked and chose, selecting a phoenix hairpin, carefully placing it in a wooden box. When Mu Sheng went to pay, Duan Yulan insisted on paying instead, saying it was her gift to her brother's wife as a meeting gift. Unable to do anything about it, Mu Sheng could only let her have her way.

  However, when the three of them went out, a handsome young man walked in and said to Duan Yulan: "I didn't expect to meet Miss Duan here, I'm really lucky!"

  Duan Yulan said with a smile and then walked out, while Xiaoxue gave Xu Gongzi a disdainful look before following her.

  Xu Gongzi saw that Duan Yulan and her servant were not giving him a good face, so he beckoned with his hand, and four servants surrounded them. Duan Yulan saw that she was being blocked and shouted: "What do you want to do?"

  Xu Gongzi walked over slowly from behind and said, "I don't want to do anything, I just want to chat with Miss Duan, talk about the wind, flowers, snow, and moon. What do you think, Miss Duan?" After finishing speaking, he burst out laughing loudly.

  "Hey, you stinky rascal, stay away from our young mistress!"

  "You stinky little girl dare to scold me!" As he spoke, Xu Gongzi swung his big hand and slapped Xiaoxue's face.

  Xiaoxue closed her eyes in fright, but after a while, she didn't feel any pain. Xiaoxue found it strange and opened her eyes to see a large hand blocking Xu Gongzi's hand. At this time, only Xu Gongzi's voice was heard saying: "Little boy, who are you? Please don't interfere with other people's business, or else you will regret it."

  "I never regret what I've done, but I'm asking you to treat my sister with respect, that's a piece of advice for you." Mu Sheng said calmly.

  "Haha, your sister, I've never heard that Miss Duan has a younger brother, he must be her little lover!" Xu Gongzi said loudly.

  When Xu Gongzi said this, Duan Yulan's face turned red with anger. Mu Sheng's face was a bit hot at this time, but the fly in front of him was very annoying, especially its mouth. So, with lightning speed, he sealed Xu Gongzi's acupoints and simultaneously threw out four copper coins. The four family guards who came to assist were frozen in place. Mu Sheng's immobilizing technique only lasted for three hours, after which they would be free again. Mu Sheng didn't want to create more karma, as life was precious and he had no right to take anyone's life away. Therefore, in general, Mu Sheng would only subdue his opponents without harming them.

  "Now that things are settled, let's go, sister!" Mu Sheng said to Duan Yulan.

  "Hmm", Duan Yulan responded softly, but what made Duan Yulan strange was that those servants didn't move at all, and let them leave by themselves. And Xu Gongzi also didn't make another sound, it's really strange.

  Xiaoxue walked up to Mosheng's side at this time, her little face red as she said: "Thank you, young master."

  "Oh, it's alright, Little Snow doesn't need to be like that." Murong Sheng said calmly.

  Upon hearing Mu Sheng say that, Xiao Xue disagreed and said: "That won't do, if it weren't for Young Master, my face would be swollen. Young Master, from now on just call me Xue Er directly, no need to keep calling me 'young lady'." After finishing speaking, she also secretly took a glance at Mu Sheng.

  "Oh, I see." Murong said calmly, which made Xiaoxue feel a little disappointed.

  The three of them lost interest in strolling after Xu Gongzi's antics and returned home.