51st oil painting

Chapter 16

Nono found a white bath towel and covered the painting with it.

"Ms. Park, could you reschedule my class? Next week's class could be moved to tonight!"

Nono quickly found Ms. Park's phone number and called her.

"Oh, that's a bit tricky. If you need to reschedule, you should notify us three days in advance so the school can make arrangements and issue a notice for students to adjust accordingly. This year, the school has only made one adjustment to the course content and class hours, and that was due to a power outage."

After Mr. Park finished speaking, he asked Nono, "Did something happen? You sound a bit... well..."

"No!" Nono tried to sound nonchalant, then asked, "By the way, Teacher Park, what are you drawing tonight?"

"Tonight's model is a 68-year-old woman. I asked the students to draw the wrinkles and sagging skin. If you're interested, you can come and take a look."

Nono really had no interest in seeing a naked old man; perhaps after tonight, she would be in for some misfortune.

After hanging up the phone, Nuonuo turned around and saw that Ahu was standing at the door, staring at her blankly.

Why haven't you left yet?

Oil painting No. 51: 773 Horror Series 13

Section 35: On the beach of bullshit Knox

Time was ticking away, and with no solution in sight, Nono was extremely upset.

"You work as a nude model outside?"

Ah Hu's voice trembled slightly, filled with envy.

Nono had no choice but to nod.

"Could you introduce me to your teacher so I can also...take off all my clothes once? I won't ask for anything in return."

Seeing that Nuonuo didn't react, Ahu added, "If all else fails, I can pay him myself, how about giving him a hundred yuan?"

Look at Ah Hu's pitiful appearance, he looks almost like a beggar on the street.

"Tonight's lesson was already scheduled: draw a grumpy old man. It's neither my turn nor yours."

Hearing Nuonuo's answer, Ahu was very discouraged.

"Figure it out yourself. I'm in a terrible predicament right now—I can barely save myself!"

After saying that, Nono almost burst into tears.

Autumn hasn't truly arrived yet, and affordable swimming remains a top choice for public recreation. It's currently the afternoon opening time, and the swimming pool is filled with shimmering blue water, laughter, and old songs by Jeff Chang playing from the speakers.

Ah Hu walked out of the changing area and up a flight of stairs. Suddenly, a bright and spacious pool appeared before him, with a high dome and a large pool. The pool was divided into a shallow end and a deep end. The shallow end was for those who were not good at swimming and for children to practice, while the deep end was frequented by familiar faces of swimmers. The deepest part of the pool was 2.5 meters deep.

Ah-hu can't swim. He bought the XL size Porita brand swim trunks at the swimming pool's shop. He originally wanted a pair of boxer briefs, but only size M was left; the XL was all briefs, leaving him with no choice. Perhaps the swimsuit designer intentionally wanted to project a "muscular" image, as the sides were too narrow, revealing his pubic hair. Ah-hu didn't care; boxer briefs or briefs, he was going to take them off anyway.

The shallow water area is 1.2 meters deep. Ahu walks in the water with his feet on the plastic floor. When it comes to the official competition, these floors can be removed and the track can be restored to its original state.

Swimmers were scattered around, some adults with children playing in the water, the children wearing inflatable rings; some boys were teaching girls to swim, taking the opportunity to grope their chests; others were slicing through the waves, looking very fierce, but an expert could tell at a glance that they were novices who had just learned two moves and were too afraid to go to the deep end, so they could only bury themselves in the shallow end and practice hard.

Between the shallow and deep water areas, there is a floating barrier. If you swim through it to the deep water, it feels like jumping off a cliff, which is very exciting.

Ah Hu was walking back and forth in the shallow water area when two girls in bikinis were playing with water polo. Ah Hu accidentally bumped into one of them, but she didn't mind and even gave Ah Hu a flirty wink.

The point of wearing a bikini here is to attract men's attention.

There's a famous saying: If one day all the men were to die, the women who are obsessed with beauty treatments, dieting, and spas would be too lazy to even comb their hair in the morning.

Ah Hu decided to "make his move" right here. He retreated to the edge of the shallow water, untied the drawstring on his swim trunks, and with a gentle flick, they came loose. The water made the trunks cling tightly to his skin. Ah Hu pressed his thumb against his stomach and slowly inserted it downwards...

Now, if you pull down hard, it will be completely exposed.

Although we were in the water, there were men and women, young and old, all around us; it was completely public!

Who will be the first "discoverer"? Will it be one of the girls playing in the water polo? How will they react? Will they scream, run ashore, cover their eyes, or simply put their heads underwater to see for themselves? The answer will be revealed in ten seconds.

Just as Ah Hu mustered up the courage to pull down her swimming trunks, a novice swam over with a splash. This guy was practicing breaststroke, wearing goggles, his head submerged in the water, and his legs kicking outwards like a giant bullfrog. Ah Hu felt a hard kick to the stomach, and with a backward fall, she rolled from the shallow end into the deep end.

The lifeguards, sitting high on the lookout chair, spotted something in the deep end and immediately jumped in. Two lifeguards worked together to pull the water-filled "teapot" ashore. The poor teapot lay on the ground like a dead fish, spitting out bubbles, its internal organs being cleaned by the bleach in the pool water.

When Mr. Q received Nono's call, he was initially overjoyed, but then puzzled. He felt that the girl was obviously in a hurry, insisting on arranging it for tonight. Tomorrow night is the weekend, and the number of customers at the bar will be twice as many as usual. Mr. Q repeatedly discussed with her whether it could be moved to tomorrow night, and he was willing to pay an extra two hundred yuan, but Nono refused outright.

Yes, they must be short of money, and in urgent need.

This is the only reason Mr. Q could come up with.

Doesn't she even have a friend who's willing to lend her 300 yuan?

Girls these days are really hard to understand.

AK47 is located on Madang Road, intersecting with the bustling Huaihai Road, a good location. In Shanghai, most bars, besides those around five-star hotels, are concentrated in quieter areas like Hengshan Road, Julu Road, Maoming Road, and Changle Road. In the past two years, with the rise of Xintiandi, bars have gradually moved closer to these areas.

Before 7 p.m., Nono arrived early. In the studio specially set up by Mr. Q, Nono received a bag of special supplies. The bag contained a Gillette shaving set, including a razor, a bottle of shaving foam, a bottle of toner, and a bath towel.

Nono first needs to take a shower to wash away the oil on her skin and shave all her body hair.

Affected by global warming, summers in Shanghai are getting longer and longer, swallowing up autumn and spring. With the popularity of sleeveless tops, girls have become accustomed to doing this every day. Some people are rather careless in shaving, and when they raise their arms, you can clearly see black stubble scattered in their armpits.

Besides the armpits, the hair on the pubic area also needs to be shaved. Body painting covers the entire body, and the presence of body hair will affect the application of the colors. Moreover, when washing off the paint, body hair cannot be washed off as quickly as skin. Who wants to have a bunch of colorful body hair on their body?

As Nono showered and shaving, she thought of the Philips body shaving blades at home, which felt so comfortable to use, but unfortunately she didn't bring them.

After showering, there was a knock on the door. An artist with messy, unkempt hair and a full beard entered. He wore a ripped baseball cap backwards and dirty jeans that he probably never washed. He looked to be about thirty-five or thirty-six years old. He carried a folding toolbox and dragged a folding chair.

Oil painting No. 51: 773 Horror Series 13

Section 36: The Moment the Swim Trunks Were Pulled Down

"I don't have a name. If you want, you can call me 'Cannon,' if not, you can call me 'son of a bitch.'"

This is the artist's opening statement.

"Hello, my name is Nuonuo..." Nuonuo said timidly.

The artist seemed not to hear, opened his toolbox, which contained dozens of colorful paints, more than a dozen brushes of varying thicknesses, and some other small gadgets that he couldn't understand.

"I'm not interested in your name. I just want to finish my work early and go home for a beer."

Nono hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly took off the large bath towel wrapped around her body, revealing her skin.

The artist, accustomed to depicting female nudity, had Nono sit on a folding chair while he knelt on the floor and began working, launching into a conversation. Nono was somewhat surprised; despite this "son of a bitch's" slovenly appearance, he had been to Milan, Turin, Venice, and even Paris. While sketching along the Seine, he met an American tourist even more slovenly than himself, wearing one pair of male shoes and one pair of female shoes. Perhaps out of sympathy, he drew a sketch of him, which the American was very pleased with, immediately paying him two hundred dollars. Later, he learned that this guy was actually the CEO of a NASDAQ-listed tech company, worth hundreds of millions.

Unfortunately, while traveling by train from France to Italy, "that son of a bitch" was robbed. His wallet was stolen, resulting in a loss of several thousand euros, including two hundred dollars. The thief was quite gentlemanly, only taking cash and leaving his credit cards and passport untouched. He even left behind a pile of euro coins and a note in French, advising him to carry less cash and use credit cards more often, and wishing him a pleasant journey. This makes one wonder if he was a thief hired by an international credit card organization.

"You son of a bitch" told Nuonuo that the bar has body painting every day, but it's always the same old faces and bodies. Not only are the audience tired of it, but even Mr. Q feels embarrassed and urgently needs to add some fresh blood. So tonight, he put Nuonuo as the grand finale and even rearranged the lighting.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. On Nono’s front was a pigeon flapping its wings. Its wings were unusual, shaped like human hands. On Nono’s back, from its neck to its buttocks, was a large African python with its head replaced by a leopard’s head.

"These two animals, they're neither snakes nor birds, I don't understand them at all." Nono stared at herself in the mirror for a long time.

"Art is only art if you can't understand it."

"You son of a bitch," he told Nuonuo not to sit down yet, to let the paint dry completely, and then turned to wash her hands.

Looking at the colorful beauty in the mirror, Nono had to admit, it was stunning! She regretted not bringing a digital camera to take some pictures as souvenirs. Once rinsed, these beautiful patterns flowed down the drain, never to return.

According to Mr. Q's plan, the performance would begin at ten o'clock. The first two models would appear, one painted with characters from "The Romance of the Western Chamber"—Yingying in the front and Zhang Sheng in the back—and the other painted with the Spider Woman all over her body. They would pose and walk around the bar, stopping at each table to let every customer admire them. Half an hour later, Nuonuo would take the stage. In other words, the two supporting characters would appear first to set off the main attraction later.

To Mr. Q's utter surprise, the result was completely unexpected.

Nono quickly entered the studio, drew the shower curtain, and turned on the tap, the water gushing down.

"No, no!" came Mr. Q's exasperated voice from outside the door.

"How could you abandon your customers? We agreed on an hour, and you've only been setting up for twenty minutes! This is a breach of contract; you won't get a single penny!"

Nono pulled back the shower curtain and shouted outside, "I never wanted your money! My problem is solved!"

Huh? What problem was solved?

Mr. Q simply couldn't understand it. Girls these days are unbelievable. If she were his daughter, he would definitely give her a good scolding. How could a person be so untrustworthy?

If she were my daughter, I would never let her come to a place like this!

After leaving AK47, Nono checked her watch; it was 11:30 p.m. She breathed a long sigh of relief, secretly rejoicing.

I have completed the "public nudity display" within the stipulated time, so that "misfortune" should not befall me, right?

Nono thought of Ah Hu again. The poor guy, where was he? How would he accomplish this Mission Impossible?

Nono's worries were unnecessary. Two hours earlier, while Nono was still drawing a python on her back, Ahu had already completed the "impossible mission" cleanly and efficiently, unlike Nono who was so fussy.

In the night school art class, the rustling sound of clothes being undressed came from behind the screen. Teacher Park was explaining the basic points of the painting lesson to the students, how to use light and shadow contrast to depict the "wrinkled skin" of an elderly man. Before she could finish speaking, several unusual sounds came from behind the screen. Clang! Bang! Crash! Crash! The screen fell over outwards, revealing a naked male model lying on his side on half of a ping-pong table, facing everyone with a smile.

Teacher Park was stunned, because the male model was not in his sixties at all, but a young man, at most thirty years old, with fat all over his body, and the wrinkles of fat accumulation replaced the "wrinkles of sagging skin".

"Teacher, look!" a student exclaimed.

Teacher Park looked down at the ping-pong table and saw an elderly man in his sixties being shoved under it, his face bruised and swollen, having just been beaten, and groaning in pain.

"What's going on? Who are you? How did you get into the classroom?"

Faced with a barrage of questions from Teacher Park, the chubby young man remained silent, then jumped off the ping-pong table. Teacher Park instinctively took a step back, worried that the young man might attack him. Unexpectedly, the young man threw his head back and laughed three times: Ha! Ha! Ha!

After laughing, he quickly picked up his clothes from the ground and left the classroom amidst the astonished gazes of everyone. He strode away, and a lighthearted whistle echoed down the corridor.

Teacher Park helped the old man up from under the table tennis table and asked him what had happened.

"He was hiding under the pool table... I was just about to take off my clothes when he suddenly jumped out, grabbed me by the neck, dragged me off the table, and then he started taking off his clothes..."

"He's a madman!" the old man cursed, his voice trembling.

He's not just crazy, he's an exhibitionist and a sexual pervert.

Oil painting No. 51: 773 Horror Series 13

Section 37: I will never let her come to a place like this.

Teacher Park comforted the old man for a few words and instructed everyone to continue the class, drawing the "wrinkles of sagging skin" and the fearful expression on the old man's face, which was a rare sight.

The taxi followed the Yan'an Road Elevated Highway to the Bund. The elevated highway ended at the Bund's breakwater, beyond which lay the surging Huangpu River, creating the illusion of speeding into the river. As the vehicle turned left onto the off-ramp, a breathtaking panorama unfolded before us, revealing rows of classic buildings constructed in the 1930s. Such a dramatic contrast in just a few seconds is why taxi drivers hailed it as the Bund's premier scenic spot.

It was nearly midnight, and the Huangpu River was pitch black, so the visual effect of the car speeding into the river was greatly diminished.

Clang, clang, clang...

The clock on the Customs House struck twelve, its melodious chimes audible across the Huangpu River.

Instead of the expected excitement, Nuonuo and Ahu, the two young people who had escaped their "misfortune," stared at each other blankly, unable to utter a word, both pondering the same question:

What should we do with that painting?

The consensus was to wrap the painting up securely and store it in the storage room, ensuring it remained hidden from everyone, no matter how its condition changed. This was the only emergency measure.