Love Code At the End of The World

He leaned back and grinned at me. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

I took a deep breath and supported my head on one hand. “Maybe I’m too excited. It’s my first time in Blue Shield City and I reunited with He Lei too.”

Harry turned away, supporting his head on one hand while he gazed into the darkness.

I glanced at the moonlight outside the window. “I can see Honeycomb from here.”

“I knew it,” Harry suddenly said impatiently. Although his words sounded like he was sick of girls being interested in gigolos, his tone sounded delighted, as if he was happy that that was the reason. 

Why would the possibility of me being unable to sleep because of Honeycomb make him so happy? He’d still been unhappy a moment ago when I’d brought up He Lei.

I turned and saw him rolling his eyes. “All of you are so interested in Honeycomb. I’m warning you.” He gave me a stern look. “ That place is dirty and chaotic. Do not go!”

“I was thinking if you’ve been!” Why would I go there? I am a girl!

“Of course we haven’t!” Harry retorted solemnly.

Hurriedly, he covered his mouth and looked into the inner room. Lowering his voice, he said, “Don’t even think about it. The guys there are not clean. You use him, someone else uses him. I heard that many of them are ill.” Harry looked disdainful. Judging from his expression, he really had never been there.

“Don’t we have this?” I extended my arm to grab a condom from under the counter.

Harry abruptly blushed!

Although the moonlight was dim, his blushing face was clearly visible.

He grabbed the condom from my hand and glared at me in distress. “You are a girl. Why aren’t you shy at all when you talk about this? Do not take this thing! This is so embarrassing!” He stuffed the condom to the back. “This is very rare and very expensive too. The guys in Honeycomb sometimes use one for very long.”

“Only one?! How?!” I glanced at him in surprise.

His face grew even redder. “They wash after use, I guess!”

I stared at him, dumbfounded. I see. You use it like that!

He rubbed his face awkwardly and glanced at me impatiently twice. Combing his brown curly hair, he pointed at me. “Listen up! Don’t always think about that place. No matter how pretty the guys there look, how could they be prettier than Raffles? If you like pretty boys, just look at Raffles more often. If it isn’t enough, look at me more often!” He smirked and pointed at his own face.

I looked at him speechlessly and rolled my eyes at him, then supported my face with one hand. “Stop saying that they are dirty. Don’t you think those guys are pitiful?”

Harry reined back his smile and looked in front of him as he supported his head with one hand. The moonlight that had disappeared for a while, now reappeared again. It seemed that the clouds had blocked it for a while.

Harry gazed into the dark in silence. I glanced at him. “Why did you stop talking all of a sudden? You think they are pitiful too, don’t you?”

“There are two kinds of guys in Honeycomb,” he started telling me. “One kind grew up here since young. They have been brainwashed by the Queen in Blue Shield City since long ago.” Turning to me, Harry pointed at his head and shrugged. “Hence, they believe that it’s perfectly normal to exchange their bodies for bread. Many gigolos have no shame. They are proud of getting the most customers and they indulge in having sex.”

“How do you know about this?” I narrowed my eyes. “You’ve been there before after all!”

He flicked my forehead, annoyed. “Because I have a friend in there.”

“What?!” Harry has a gigolo friend!

My eyes shot wide open but he looked sorrowful. “There is another kind of sojourn bee in Honeycomb, like my friend. He will come here every spring to exchange for enough resources using his body, to bring them home to feed his family.” Harry looked down and sighed. “We got to know each other during an exchange of resources. He is a very clean guy. I’d never thought he would do such a thing. Sometimes, the people who go there are crazy. They would beat him up. But he took it all because of the people back in his hometown. He told me that he hoped to exchange for seeds so he wouldn’t need to come back and do that anymore.”

“Did he manage to?” I looked at him.

Harry nodded and looked up. He wore a bright smile, “Yes!” He turned and was smug with success. “I gave him the seeds of our black wheat. Then, I never saw him ever again.” His smile was extremely bright, which felt heartwarming.

“Sigh! It’s a pity that you can’t help everyone.” Harry sighed and leaned against the counter. His slightly lifted face was filled with helplessness and sorrow.  

I leaned sideways against the counter and watched him quietly in the dark. I was sad about the Honeycomb boy as well. The boys in the beautiful castle had their own reasons and their own purposes for being there.

They were either infatuated, forced, enjoyed or hated Honeycomb. They had too many untold stories.

“There are many places without healthy soil. That’s why they can’t plant anything. The boys who do that are mostly lower class metahumans. They are good looking but weak in superpowers. For example, voice changing, nail-color changing…” Harry continued. As a guy himself, he must have been moved by the Honeycomb guys. “Then, there are some who think it is less tough to do this job.”

Less tough? Yeah. Lie down and money comes rolling. It is not tough at all. “But, wouldn’t they get beaten up?” I asked confusedly.

“Some won’t.” Harry leaned slightly to the side, against the counter. Looking into my eyes, he told me, “Some are better off. They are protected by the Honeycomb Queen. For example, the most beautiful guy in Honeycomb is called Pink Baby. I heard that it would cost a bomb to touch him even once. Pink Baby is also the boy who’s most spoiled by the Queen. It’s said that he doesn’t sleep with anyone, or so I heard.” Harry wasn’t sure.

Harry’s soft hoarse voice made me sleepy. I slowly closed my eyes. “To them, what is happiness?”

“Happiness? It’s to have enough food to eat, warm enough clothes to wear. Now, do you realize how lucky it is to be rescued by me?” Harry seemed to be proud.

“Mm.” I thought so too. 

“You complain that our black bread is disgusting but many places don’t have enough food and clothes to keep warm, just like where my friend is from.” He sighed again. “He was almost starved to death, but the people from Silver Moon City found his people and gave them a spaceship. They told them about Blue Shield City. Thus, he brought the best thing from their city to Blue Shield City. It was then that he realized that the best thing in their city was only some scrap metal here. And then, he found Honeycomb. Because he carried the hope of the people in his city.”

Harry’s speech became muffled. When a person had carried the hope and anticipation of his city to Blue Shield City, only to be greeted with disappointment, would Honeycomb have been considered as something that gave him hope?