Grandma Guo, Guiying’s paternal grandmother, is a largely off-screen presence whose illness casts a long shadow over Guiying’s decisions. Her poor health and relocation to a nursing home thirty kilometers from Lucheng create a central dilemma for Guiying, forcing her to choose between her dream of a gap year abroad and her desire to be with her grandmother during “what were possibly her last months.” She represents the pull of family duty and the emotional weight of impending loss. While she does not appear directly, her influence is felt through Guiying’s conflicted heart, and she serves as a reminder of the personal sacrifices and emotional ties that persist alongside the grand dramas of state and society.
