Love Code at the End of the World

“Alright.” Raffles propped himself up on one elbow, his gaze fixed upon me as he watched the changes in my expression. From time to time, he would reach out to gently wipe away the beads of sweat on my forehead with his sleeve.

My eyes were drawn to his lips, and his eyes had likewise dropped to mine. As I stared at his lips, his gaze flickered back up to my eyes anxiously. Raffles’ lips looked nice, not too thick nor too thin. His upper lip had a slight purse to it, making it difficult to determine whether he was a girl or a boy.contemporary romance

As he gently wiped the sweat on my forehead, the silky hair hanging by his neck fell softly across his shoulders; his tenderness made him look even more like the caring sister that Harry had described him as.

“What’s wrong with Luo Bing?” Anxious, Harry climbed up too, before turning to Raffles. “Raffles, what happened to Luo Bing?!” He extended his hand to grab Raffles’ collar, his large actions in that small space almost causing Raffles to knock against the top of my head. 

“I don’t know either. I’d thought her superpower was absorbing and transmitting blue crystal energy. Theoretically speaking, it shouldn’t have taxed her stamina. But… she looks like she’s exhausted.” Raffles looked at me with concern, guilt and self-blame on his face.

“It’s all your fault!” Harry scolded angrily. “For the sake of science, anyone can be sacrificed, is that it?”

“No!” Raffles panicked. “I-!”

“I’ll bring her out. It’s so stuffy in here, how can she rest properly?” Harry rolled his eyes at Raffles and grabbed my arm to pull me out.

I waved him off. “I don’t want to move…” I felt nauseous as if I was carsick, and I didn’t want to move at all. “I was controlling the blue crystal energy’s range so that it wouldn't spill over into the surroundings…”

“I get it, it’s willpower!” Raffles seemed to realize something. “Then, it makes sense! The first time that humans exert their will to control their superpowers would be more tiring. Luo Bing, it seems like you’ll have to practice more. You’ll feel better after more practice. Just ask Harry. Harry, am I right?”

I looked at Harry. Their heads were both above mine, with Harry’s face in front of Raffles’.

Harry let out a breath of relief and his anger towards Raffles faded as well. “Mm, I didn’t manage to control my superpower well on the first day either. I’ll help you with willpower training when we get back. You’ll get better.” Harry glanced down at me and was suddenly stunned. He seemed to have just realized that all three of us were crammed very close to one another in a narrow space.

He didn’t notice that his curly hair was almost touching Raffles’ fringe.

Instead, his amber eyes that were fixated upon my eyes glistened, and he averted his gaze from my face to look elsewhere.

“There’s more! Harry, Luo Bing can activate her superpower on her own now without help!” Raffles told Harry excitedly. They were so close that his breath lifted Harry’s fringe when he spoke.

Stunned, Harry blushed at once and turned away bashfully. “Isn’t that great? You think I like hugging her? My face hurts when it rots!” he complained.

“Pfft, you still like it…” Raffles muttered as he looked away in disdain. “I think you even love it…”

“What did you say, Bunny?!” Harry turned around to glare at him and roared.

Raffles rolled his eyes at him. Harry abruptly leaped forward and pounced on Raffles. Pressing Raffles below his body, he smiled maliciously. “Bunny! What did you say?”

I held my forehead. “That’s enough! This place is so cramped. Can you leave some oxygen for me? Go out and share your intimate moment. Don’t do it in front of me!” I felt very suffocated right now.

Both of them were stunned. Harry let go of Raffles, while Raffles rolled his eyes at Harry. Patting dust off his shoulder that Harry had hugged, Raffles looked at me with concern. “Do you feel better now?”

I nodded at him. “We can head out now.”

Raffles and Harry both relaxed and smiled at me. In the faint blue light, their expressions were gentle although their features were different. 

Standing by He Lei’s spaceship, I watched them bid their goodbyes.

Fat-Two suddenly hugged Xiao Ying, causing Xiao Ying’s eyes to open wide. Although Fat-Two was skinny now, he was still rather brawny. It was just like how even a malnutritioned camel would be bigger than a horse.

He hugged Xiao Ying as if he was hugging a yoga ball.

Sis Cannon immediately raised her eyebrows at Ming You; Ming You shook her head impatiently.

Sis Cannon was open-minded whereas Ming You was conservative. Still, Sis Cannon liked to fool around with Ming You the most.

“Fatty, see you again! Eat less! There is much less food now. Leave some for the others.” Fat-Two picked Xiao Ying up like he was picking up a child and let her sit on his muscular arm.

Xiao Ying’s cheeks were puffed up with rage while Fat-Two laughed heartily. Fat-Two looked handsome after losing weight, with his Eastern European features and distinctive jawline. His sturdy build, eight-pack abs and solid glutes had left a strong impression in our minds.

“You should just get lost as far away as possible!” Xiao Ying cursed, crossing her arms from her perch on Fat-Two’s arm.

Fat-Two chuckled and teased, “You’ll definitely miss me! Fatty, I can tell.” Fat-Two put Xiao Ying down and Xiao Ying looked away with her cheeks puffed up. “I won’t. Humph!”

He Lei met my eyes too. “I will wait for you.” He extended his hand and touched the Youth League badge that I had once pinned on his chest.

My gaze followed his hand and saw the badge. “You’ve been wearing it since then?”

“Yes.” He looked down at the badge lovingly. “I’ve been wearing it since, and I’ll continue to wear it. It really has brought me good luck. Luo Bing, thank you for lending me your luck.”

I reached out and touched the badge, which caught Raffles and Harry’s attention.

“That wouldn’t be your gift to him, right?” Harry asked with his eyes wide.

I had yet to reply before He Lei smiled and responded, “Yeah, this is the lucky charm I got from him.”

“Brother Bing, you sure have a lot of things!” Harry complained sorely. “Why didn’t I get anything? You gave Bunny a bracelet too.”

Raffles touched his own wrist then smiled with his head hung low. The corners of his lips lifted, and he looked like he was smirking.

He Lei glanced at me then at Harry. He suddenly crossed his arms. “Harry, why do I feel that you are jealous?”

Surprised, Harry retorted with his eyes wide, “Why would I be jealous? She’s not even a girl. Pfft.”

He Lei continued to laugh at him. “Luo Bing said that if Raffles was a girl, he would marry him.”

“Pfft. Cough cough cough cough…” I choked and coughed.

Raffles was stunned too. He suddenly lifted his head, his wide-open grayish-blue eyes blank and his fair face flushed bright red.

“You did?” Harry smiled wickedly. I rolled my eyes at him and whispered into his ear, “He Lei kept asking if Raffles was a girl… Cough.” I glanced innocently at our blushing Raffles. Hearing my whisper and he blushed even harder, before looking away angrily and stomping away.

done.co