"Speaking of which, I haven’t seen your son in years."
"These past few years he’s been at Harvard, doesn’t like coming ho, usually stays out. I haven’t seen him much either.
"
"I heard from my father-in-law that they seem to be gathering for a eting these days."
............
It is indeed a eting, a family eting.
In the span of two days, the n of the Gu Family returned from all over to the Gu ancestral ho, which is the inner courtyard of the Gu Family estate.
The main house, rarely open to outsiders, suddenly seated more than twenty n. Among them were retired individuals, as well as many who held power in various high-level positions within the Gu Family business and other industries. It was arguably the most focused eting the Gu Family had held in recent years.
"Shaocheng, it’s been nearly half a year since everyone saw you last. I heard you were injured, so everyone ca to see you and chat for a bit." The oldest third uncle took advantage of his seniority to make an introductory remark, serving as the opening: "I heard the Zhou Family girl had two children for you. You haven’t ntioned the wedding, this marriage needs to be arranged quickly, don’t you think? Otherwise, what are these two children supposed to be?"
Wouldn’t they be illegitimate children then?
The world regards illegitimate children differently; Gu Shaocheng himself was one back then and faced much disdain when he first ca to the Gu Family. The third uncle’s words were actually for his own good.
Gu Shaocheng sat in the main seat, smiling, "The marriage has always been in the planning stages. I haven’t sat down to chat with everyone for a long ti, so while you all ca to see , it’s a good ti for us to talk together."
"Shaocheng, how did you injure your leg? These past few months you’ve been in and out rarely, there are a lot of rumors outside, we’ve heard so of them. Usually, we treat them as jokes, didn’t expect you were indeed injured. Besides the leg, is there any other problem with your health?"
Gu Shaocheng gave a faint, bitter smile, appearing quite troubled, "Uncle Lie, what you asked is actually what I want to tell everyone today. It’s not an injury, it’s an illness. I hadn’t dared to ntion it, also fearing it might cause so unrest within the Gu Family, but now I’m afraid it’s at a point where it must be said. I’ve thought it over and still think everyone should know."
Gu Shaocheng said this while pressing his temples with his hand and stated bluntly, "This illness of mine, it’s hereditary!"
"Perhaps everyone isn’t very clear about it, maybe so know, my mother died of an illness, ALS - Lou Gehrig’s disease. Unfortunately, I inherited this illness from my mother!"
"ALS? How could it be?"
Soone expressed shock and regret but the tone had a clear hint of excitent which sounded so ironic.
Gu Shaocheng sighed self-deprecatingly, "Indeed, it’s hard to accept imdiately. I only now realize that nothing is more important than health, the body is the foundation of everything. Unfortunately, this body of mine, sigh..."
"ALS, what kind of illness is it?" soone asked, perhaps genuinely curious. Nearby, soone explained in a voice neither too high nor too low, "I’ve heard of this illness before, seems it’s one of the world’s five deadliest diseases. Until now, there’s no known cure, is it incurable?"
"Indeed, there’s no cure!"
As these words were spoken, within those brief seconds, all sorts of expressions appeared on the faces of those in the room, each seemingly trying to glean sothing from the expressions of others.
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