Gu Yun had been as pretty as a doll as a child. That winter, Li Xingzhu's mother had taken him to Gu Yun's home to pay a New Year's visit.
It had snowed heavily that day. He had not wanted to visit that remote little town in the first place, and his condition had been very serious at the time, but his mother had dragged him out anyway.
He had accidentally wandered into someone's cellar and gotten trapped. No matter how long he cried or how hard he pounded, no one opened the hatch. He was terrified of the dark and suffered from severe claustrophobia, so all he could do was huddle in a corner and tremble.
That was when a little boy who looked like a doll opened the cellar hatch, letting a beam of light shine down from above.
The boy had gazed down at him, blinking his bright, lively eyes. Li Xingzhu still remembered that Gu Yun had been wearing a red floral padded jacket and white earmuffs.
To him, Gu Yun had looked like a beautiful doll, a porcelain doll who needed tender care and might shatter at the slightest mishap. That was why he had to protect him.
After that, he had pestered his mother every week to take him to see Gu Yun.
His mother could do nothing about him and had no choice but to take him into town to visit Gu Yun every week.
So he would save up a little pile of pocket money each week. Before every trip into town to see Gu Yun, he would spend it all on a heap of snacks for him.
Naturally, they had become the best of friends.
Gu Yun took the slightly rusted key with a red cord attached out of his