diff --git a/subwave_nowplaying.star b/subwave_nowplaying.star
index 11df999..002a57e 100644
--- a/subwave_nowplaying.star
+++ b/subwave_nowplaying.star
@@ -233,8 +233,23 @@ def main(config):
     # 15 chars keeps a real margin against overflowing into the art
     # column instead of relying on a 1px coincidence. Always Marquee at
     # 1x, where the available width is tighter regardless of length.
-    time_temp_fits = scale == 2 and len(now["time_temp"]) <= 15
-    time_temp_line = time_temp_text if time_temp_fits else render.Marquee(width = text_width, child = time_temp_text)
+    #
+    # Counted via codepoints, not a bare len(): Starlark's len() on a
+    # string counts UTF-8 *bytes*, and this string almost always has at
+    # least one multi-byte character (the \xb7 separator, \xb0 in the temp,
+    # if any) -- confirmed len() reports 16 for a real 14-character
+    # string here, which silently sent every normal-length string down
+    # the Marquee branch instead of the intended centered-static-text one
+    # (visually: text appeared "stuck" left-aligned with no error, since
+    # Marquee just shows already-fitting content statically rather than
+    # scrolling it -- easy to mistake for "the centering didn't work").
+    time_temp_char_count = len(list(now["time_temp"].codepoints()))
+    time_temp_fits = scale == 2 and time_temp_char_count <= 15
+    time_temp_line = (
+        render.Box(width = text_width, child = render.Row(main_align = "center", expanded = True, children = [time_temp_text]))
+        if time_temp_fits else
+        render.Marquee(width = text_width, child = time_temp_text)
+    )
 
     top_lines = [
         render.Marquee(width = text_width, child = render.Text(now["title"], font = "tb-8", color = colors["text"])),