Jiang Han arrived at one of Absolute City's three ivory towers. This was the core area of the Absolute City Team, and the number of witches abruptly dropped by more than half.
By the time she reached the lounge on the tower's second floor, there were even fewer people.
The witches in the lounge appraised Jiang Han with their eyes, making her stiffen. She felt like a shy child called up by the teacher to answer a question at the blackboard, her heart racing uncontrollably.
Their gazes swept brazenly over her face, her hands, her outfit, her calves—every part of her they could observe.
Lin Zhaojun stepped forward, blocking most of the stares, and said with a smile:
"This is my date."
The heavy atmosphere broke apart, and lively, polite curiosity returned. A witch in a yellow pinstriped short-sleeved shirt and a printed suspender midi skirt stepped out. She had delicate features and a pair of hands that could have been works of art.
She wore a bonnet, a hat with a broad brim and a rounded cocoon-like structure made from whalebone.
Her smile was bright and cheerful as she said to Jiang Han in an awed tone:
"You remind me of my first love..."
...Do all the witches on the Absolute City Team talk in the same tone...? Both annoyed and amused, Jiang Han shot Lin Zhaojun a glance. Under the other's puzzled gaze, she answered the witch first:
"The problem is, you don't have a first love?"
The witch's awed expression froze. After half a second of stunned silence, she smiled even more brightly. "I do. She was a delicate, adorable girl just like you."
She does...? Jiang Han froze for half a second, then stiffly turned her head toward Lin Zhaojun and covered her face with both