In the late winter of 2023, Gu Yan squatted in the ruins of the old alley clinic, digging his nails into the frozen cracks of the floor tiles. There was a glass jar buried under the brick, and the mouth of the jar was wrapped with a straw rope he had braided during his sophomore year - it was an "optical fiber storage jar" for Xiao Man. It was now broken into seventeen pieces, and the sharp edge cut into his palm. Blood drops dripped on the signboard of "Gu's Medicine" and turned into dark red flowers.
