Unable to See Eye to Eye

In winter, the sun rose at a lower angle, and its colors were paler than in summer or autumn. At the same time and place, the summer or autumn sun could sting one's eyes shut when looked at directly, while the winter sun seemed to be separated by a layer of frosted glass, making its outline clearly visible. Sometimes, it even gave people an inexplicable sense of freshness.

Just like now.

It was already noon, yet when Zheng Qing looked up, he could not see the whole sun. He could only see a small half of an orange-red orb hanging in the blue-gray sky, gilding half the heavens with a pale platinum hue.

There were many reasons for this—perhaps because the Institute of Abnormal Life stood in a deep alley in Beta Town's eastern district, where tall courtyard walls on either side blocked the low-rising sun; perhaps the wizard in charge of the school's weather disliked clear skies today and painted a few extra layers of cloud across the heavens, hiding Half-Face of the sun; or perhaps it was simply because the young publicly funded student was crouching on the ground, too low to see the scenery above.

Of course, he had his reasons for crouching there.

Jiang Yu was currently bent over, her head hovering two feet from Zheng Qing's as she craned forward to get a closer look at the little sprites in the paper house. Though there were windows along the sides of the paper house, they were only half an inch high and unsuitable for a witch's inspection. The roof, meanwhile, was an openable skylight, with both a perfect angle and an excellent view. If Zheng Qing had remained standing stiffly in place, even if the witch stood on tiptoe, she would not have been able