Love Code At the End of The World

The man’s face was so pale that it seemed to be tinted a faint green. His dark eye circles seemed almost painted with oil paint, exuding a psychedelic radiance. 

His gaze was dull, yet his lips were a fiery red against his pale face. He was topless but sported a messy black pattern on his skin.  

Goosebumps rose all over me, because those were actually threads sewn on his skin. I could feel the pain just by looking at it. There were also two red rubies set on the sensitive nipples of his chest.

The pale skin, the black embroidery and the red rubies filled his body with a sinister sense of evil and a bloodthirsty sexiness. 

It was supposed to be a terrifying appearance, yet somehow it also brought out the dark and evil side of the person looking at him, leaving them wanting more.

On the bottom, he was wearing a shredded black leather skirt. Under the swaying leather pieces were his pale white legs. His toenails were all painted in bright red. 

Looking at me blankly, he said, “Let me have a look.” 

He seemed to be conversing with Cang Yu. Walking towards me, the spirit went through my body. I became nervous. 

“Zong Ben, do not scare Luo Bing.” Jun stared at him anxiously too.

“Tell her not to move,” said a deep voice from behind me. Obediently I didn’t move an inch, then suddenly felt my head turn cold. Did he go into my head? 

Then, I heard a panting sound. It was Nora. 

“No… Your- , Your Highness… I… I can’t… in front of Luo Bing… I…” 

“Don’t be nervous…” Cang Yu’s gentle voice said. “Who you are seeing… is not Luo Bing… but the most popular artist in the art industry back then, Mr Zong Ben. A lot of people begged to have him paint for them… Luo Bing, the first page in that book you saw just now was actually painted by him…”

“What?!” I was shocked. That painting had almost used Jun as his model… 

I narrowed my eyes at Jun and asked, “Did you… know that he drew you?” 

Jun smiled embarrassedly. His smile was innocent and clean. Scratching his head, he said, “Luo Bing, this is art. All of us here have done nude painting. Zong Ben’s heart is pure.” Jun suddenly became serious. 

“The way you described me…” Zong Ben suddenly spoke, “... makes me feel disgusted…” 

Everyone burst out in laughter.

Jun smiled brightly too.

Winsky, a postmodern painter, looked at me warmly and said, “Luo Bing, Zong Ben painted Jun in secret. Jun didn’t get naked in front of him. Also, Zong Ben wouldn’t be interested to paint if he was painting only one person. Don’t be jealous.” 

Everyone winked at me. I knew that they were just joking. This bunch of ‘dead people’ were always joking around. 

Jun’s smile became more awkward as he looked at me. “Hehehe… Zong Ben and I are actually really good friends. We were in the same art class together too.” 

What?!

I couldn’t tell that Jun and Zong Ben were best friends at all!

They were on two different ends in art. No, they were simply on different ends of the universe. 

Jun was so clean and pure while Zong Ben, um… he was…

My dirty-minded cousin sister had educated me well on those polluted topics.

“Dull…” Zong Ben suddenly said. He had obviously seen what Cang Yu was showing him but had found it boring.

“Hang on… It hasn’t ended yet…” Cang Yu said. “Don’t be in a hurry…” 

“Ah!” I suddenly heard Nora’s distinctive moan. Containing both pain and orgasm, a moan that I didn’t quite understand at my age reverberated throughout the entire space. 

“Oh. I haven’t felt this way in a long time…” A few women on the side touched their faces. “It makes me miss it just by hearing it…” 

Zong Ben raised my hand excitedly and shouted, “Hurry up and pass me a brush! Give me a brush!” Jun immediately stuffed a pen into my hand and Zong Ben started painting right away. 

He was painting like he’d gone mad or was on drugs. I had never seen such a painting speed before. 

He painted the drawing board black! 

Then, he painted Nora’s face in the middle. A face that was drenched in happiness, shyness, anxiety and fear - her expression was complex. Her trembling bashful eyes that welled up with fearful tears would sexually arouse all men, and make them want to pounce on her and bite her body to cover it in dazzling red blood.  

Suddenly, Jun covered my eyes and wouldn’t let me watch further.

“What has this girl been through? Why would she have this kind of expression?” I heard the surrounding discussions. 

“Shh… This is a brilliant painting. Whether it is a good piece of art or not hinges on its ability to trigger the hormones in us. If we don’t feel anything looking at it, it is a failed piece.”

“What light is that? Is that the holy light?” 

“It’s a collision of holiness and evil. I like this theme!”  

“Hahahaha, I like it! I like it!” Zong Ben laughed boisterously as he roared, “I like the torturous feeling of making love. Hahaha.”

“Zong Ben! Don’t say this kind of thing in Luo Bing’s body! Luo Bing, you should go back.” Jun pushed me and I woke up in my bed. The sun was glaring into my eyes. I could faintly see Cang Yu standing next to the painting, without Nora by his side. 

I felt guilty when I first saw Cang Yu. I had been afraid to see him and Nora naked, and was relieved when I saw him well dressed. 

“It truly is Zong Ben’s work,” Cang Yu exclaimed. He moved away, and I saw Nora on the painting board! 

“Ah!” I grabbed my clothes and hopped off the bed to cover it up. Cang Yu smiled and stopped me. “Luo Bing, this is art.” 

He took down the artwork calmly. I only saw Nora alone in the painting. Her body was glowing in blue like the blue crystal energy glow … 

I recalled everyone’s discussion in Valley Dust Ruins. They’d said that Nora’s body had been glowing…

In the painting, I saw a pair of scary eyes behind Nora, terrifying eyes like the devil’s. A pair of eyes that struck fear in the viewer. 

Nora’s fair and curvy body figure was entangled and swallowed by the darkness of the background, like scary tentacles or countless devils’ tongues. I couldn’t distinguish nor determine what they were but I could tell that they were extremely evil. They struck fear, yet made us anticipate them swallowing the fair young lady who was glowing.

“It is Zong Ben’s work indeed…” Cang Yu complimented in satisfaction. He took a glance at me and commented, “Zong Ben was famous for nude painting. When he first started off, his paintings were pure and holy. The girls in them all couldn’t be profaned but then he got bored of it. He searched for a breakthrough. He yearned for his own evolution so he started presenting artworks like this to the world. Doesn’t it make you go into a quandary on how to choose between kindness and evil?” 

I was blushing hard and my hair was messy as I looked at him. I’d never thought that he could remain calm and discuss about Zong Ben’s painting with me without getting shy.