The sky south of Lichuan was dull and gray. Thick fog spread across the city like a gray tide.
People in other parts of the city soon noticed the strange weather. They stopped on balconies, behind windows, and along the streets, watching and pointing.
On the balcony of an apartment building near the factory district, a young woman in a pink cardigan hummed as she hung out the laundry.
At her feet sat a bucket of wrung-out but still damp clothes on one side, and a little boy playing with a toy excavator on the other.
The boy was intent on rolling his excavator across the floor when he suddenly looked up and saw fog rushing toward them through the gaps in the railing.
"Ah! Ee! Ee!" he babbled, pointing outside.
The woman glanced down at her son, then followed his pointing hand. "Oh, fog? That's thick fog. Now the clothes will take even longer to dry. His dad needs to wear these the day after tomorrow."
She frowned. A gust of wind swept past, lifting the hair resting on her shoulders.
She murmured, then quickly relaxed her brow. "At least the air feels better. Mm, lovely."
She spread her arms and closed her eyes slightly, welcoming the dense gray fog.
Whoosh.
The fog swept past, engulfing the entire apartment building.
Through the haze, the balcony stood empty. All that remained was a bucket of clothes and a toy excavator lying on its side.
Liyuan District.
Many office buildings here had green glass curtain walls, a mark of upscale offices in Lichuan.
Behind the glass, office workers stood pointing at the clouds of fog rolling toward them like a tide, their faces curious. Some even took out cameras to capture the moment.
People on the street also looked up at