Chapter 452 - 446: Forced You to Marry

He glanced at the incoming call number but didn’t show much expression, and then he held the phone up to his ear.

“Yes, you’re coming back.”

Despite whatever the other person was saying, Gu Ning didn’t show much reaction, “I’m heading back soon as well. Tell me if you need anything.”

After a few more sentences, he murmured something in agreement, then he put down the phone. On the seat beside him in the car, there was a glass bottle filled with pill grains as small as soybeans. The faint scent of traditional Chinese medicine seemed to emanate from inside the bottle.

He put his hand on his own neck, feeling the necklace there with his fingertips, a necklace that had mysteriously come back to him.

At this point, he drove the car even faster.

“Xiaoning is back,” as soon as Gu’s mother saw her second son, she hurried over to greet him. She was as she always was, unchanged, still looking very young. However, when she gave birth to Gu Ning, she had damaged her health, and even after many years, she was still not fully recovered.

She reached out her hand, and Gu Ning automatically lowered his head to let his mother touch it.

As expected, Gu’s mother stroked her son’s hair, “You’ve grown up now. You used to be so cute when you were little, but why did you have to grow up? It’s not fun at all when you grow up. And your brother is already in his thirties and still doesn’t have a child. Xiaoning…” She grabbed Gu Ning’s arm as if she was afraid of being overheard and lowered her voice, “Do you think your brother is gay?”

Gu Ning had long since accustomed himself to his mother’s unpredictable and irrational thoughts and gibberish. She was his mother, but somehow she often seemed more like his older sister. Was it possible that his father had spoiled his wife too much? She was well into her fifties, yet she was still so childish.

“Mom, you know my big brother’s job: he has to deal with cases every day.” Gu Ning first explained on behalf of his older brother. His brother was not going to shoulder the blame for being gay.

“True,” Gu’s mother sighed, “His colleagues are all male, even the dog he raised is male.”

“Gu Ning…”

“Oh, by the way,” Gu Ning took out a bottle of medicine from his pocket and put it in Gu’s mother’s hand, “Mom, you take this first. The dosage instructions are written on it, one pill a day, take it before you go to bed.”

All right then, Gu’s mother took it. Over the years, the father and sons had brought her countless pills and remedies, some of them being ancestral secret formulas, some of them being various medical plasters. Her condition remained the same though, having to stay in the hospital several times a year, but she was used to it.

“Mom, I’m going to look for my brother.”

“Go ahead,” Gu’s mother reached out her hand again, but this time Gu Ning forgot to lower his head and she found herself touching nothing but air. She retracted her hand, sighing. Neither of her children was married. The younger one was still young, but the older one was already in his thirties. If he didn’t get married soon, it would be too late.

Children grew up too fast which wasn’t always a good thing. Even touching their heads seemed like a challenge now. They were so adorable when they were younger, with their fair and tender skin. But as they grew up, they became so unapproachable, like wooden pegs. None of them gave her peace of mind.

Meanwhile, Gu Ning had walked up to a room and knocked on the door,@@novelbin@@

He only entered when a voice from inside invited him in.

He pushed the door and went in. The man inside looked to be about thirty, very much like Gu Ning, but seemed gentler and more prone to laughter.

“You’re back,” Gu Qing poured his younger brother a cup of tea, “Come sit.”

Gu Ning walked over, took the teacup, and took a small sip.

“Big brother, when are you leaving?”

“Soon,” Gu Qing took another sip of his tea, he was a calm person, content with brewing a pot of tea and drinking it all day. “I have to take another case in a few days. I just came back this time because I heard our grandmother fell ill. Mom’s also not doing well, but thankfully it’s not as bad as I thought.”

Gu Ning put the cup to his lips.

“So, has mom been pressuring you to get married again? Did she not know about the young woman you’re dating?” Gu Qing chuckled. Suddenly, his entire face appeared more noble. He crooked his finger. Unlike Gu Ning, who was rigid, he was flexible. The two brothers of the Gu family, although different in temperament, were both equally the pride of the family and equally outstanding.

“She’s not pressuring me, she’s pressuring you,” Gu Ning put down his cup, “Big brother, some people are not worth missing for a lifetime.”

Gu Qing’s expression shifted slightly, but he finally laughed, “We’ll see. For now, I still haven’t given up.”

“Right, how’s that young woman you’re dating? Have you decided on her?”

“No,” Gu Ning put his hand on his neck again, feeling the lingering warmth on the necklace with his fingertips. Perhaps, she wouldn’t be the one, or maybe that person wasn’t her either.

Gu Qing patted Gu Ning’s shoulder, “It’s good to consider your options. In fact, I’ve always thought she’s not right for you. She isn’t attractive, and any child she might bear for me wouldn’t be either.”

It was a good thing a certain person didn’t know about this conversation, or she might not have had the nerve to show her face again.

“Are you okay?” Gu Ning looked at his older brother, it was said that his injury was so serious that he was bedridden, almost paralyzed.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Gu Qing took a light breath, “Don’t let mom know about this. Her nerves are too fragile to withstand it. But you need to keep yourself out of dangerous situations in the future.”

“I know,” Gu Ning took his cup again, as the fading light filtered in from outside illuminating them both. They were not old, they were still young, but they were no longer young either.

The march of time was perhaps a bit too fast.

That night, Gu’s mother was going to bed when she remembered the bottle of medicine her son had brought. She originally didn’t plan on taking it, but then she remembered her son personally instructing her how to take it. If she didn’t take it, wouldn’t she be letting her son down?

So, in the end, she located the bottle, opened it, and found it had a pleasant scent, just like mint, which was quite refreshing.

She poured out a pill and swallowed it. Normally, she found medicines hard to swallow because they either tasted bitter or astringent, and often made her uncomfortable for a while afterwards. But this pill didn’t have a strange taste. It had a cool feeling in her mouth, and even after swallowing it, it didn’t leave a strange aftertaste.

She placed the pill container down, then laid back down, not really rushing to fall asleep. She was used to this routine. If she didn’t toss and turn for an hour, she was unable to sleep at all.