Li Jiaoran bent over her desk, continuously writing and sketching in her book with a black gel pen, recording her thoughts and reasoning in the blank spaces on the pages. She wrote without pause, her hand scarcely stopping except when she needed to think. Only after neatly writing down the final line of notes did she finally raise her head, close the book while continuing to mull over the knowledge she had just gained from it.
In front of her desk was an exquisite, elegant round window. Beyond it lay the deep-purple night, along with cool moonlight diffused through the violet darkness.
It was getting late.
Thinking so, she reached for the desk lamp switch and lowered its brightness to the minimum.
The night sky of the Magic Kingdom changed color as time passed. When night had just fallen, it was a remarkably clear bluish-purple, but as the night deepened, the blue gradually faded while the purple grew heavier. Thus, people living in the Kingdom could easily judge how long it had been since nightfall just by looking up at the sky.
It was already deep into the night. Li Jiaoran had been immersed in her book and entirely unaware of the outside world. Only after closing it did she feel a faint wave of drowsiness.
Covering her mouth with one hand, she yawned softly, wiped away the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, and rose in her slippers. As she looked back over the room, her gaze passed over the antique, meticulously decorated walls without lingering on the soft-looking bed. Instead, she looked toward another corner—where several fluffy floor cushions were piled together, and a girl lay sprawled among them, holding up her phone with both hands as she fiddled with it.
"I'm going to sleep," Li