The progress of filming is generally slow but steady, similar to the progress of script reading.
During the break on the sixteenth day of filming, the news suddenly surged in popularity —— an assault incident occurred in the neutral restroom of the Wan Hua Shopping Mall in City N.
With each refresh, dozens of related news about the "assault incident" would appear. Searching through several official media sources, it was not surprising to find that they had just reported on this incident.
A father allowed his five-year-old daughter to enter the "unisex toilet" alone to attend to her hygiene. After the little girl entered the toilet, she started to "scream," her father to rush into the toilet, while finding another person inside.
The person had long smooth hair and a proud chest, but with male genitalia visible while attending to his physiological needs at the urinal. When the girl's father burst into the toilet, the person of unspecified gender had not finished tidying up.
The little girl was clearly frightened, full of horror and distress, clinging tightly to her father's leg, pointing at the gender-ambiguous person and shouting "pervert."
The commotion attracted many customers to stop and watch with some even taking out their phones to record the scene.
Continuously tucking 'his' long hair as if they were a lost soul, the individual frightened the living beings in the mortal world.
The father picked up the girl, covered her eyes, and walked out solemnly.
The father of the girl returned to the toilet before 'he' could step out, his eyes filled with anger, accompanied by several men of similar height and build. One of them locked the door from the inside, and without a word, they began to violently assault the girl. The sounds of beating, crying, cursing, and calls for help echoed from the unisex toilet. Some people called the police, others dialled 120 for emergency assistance, and some sought janitors and security guards to unlock the door. The situation outside the door descended into chaos as the janitors' keys were unable to unlock from the outside, eventually requiring several security guards to forcefully break it down.
The scene was horrifying.
The victim lay in a pool of blood as the men attempted to continue the assault, only to be restrained by the security guards. The police and ambulance arrived on the scene, with the police setting up a cordon while medical personnel loaded the patient onto the ambulance to be taken to the hospital.
Four men who carried out the assault were dressed casually but looked dishevelled when restrained by the police handcuffs.
A female police officer led a tear-streaked little girl and asked, "Who is her father?" The girl, with a sudden burst of strength, broke free from the officer's grasp and ran to her father, clinging to his leg, crying out, "Don't take my daddy away."
Her innocent voice tinged with tears was enough to tug at anyone's heartstrings.
The female police officer, also a mother, approached the man and took out her phone, saying, "Do you have any other relatives' numbers?"
"No," the man replied firmly.
The little girl, tears streaking her face, answered the policewoman, "My dad said my mom went to heaven and won't be back for a long time."
The air around them seemed to pause for a moment.
"What do you think?" Lu Cheng asked Zhong Shao.
Many staff, during a break from the shooting, also saw the news.
"This incident will not only trigger discussions and condemnations on group beatings, but more importantly, it will spark controversy regarding public opinion on the third toilet and transgender individuals."
Lu Cheng noticed the eye contact between the two. He joked, "Are you two being too synchronized?"
"Isn't 'brotherly love' supposed to be as synchronized as possible?" Yu Cheng responded playfully, taking Lu Cheng's joke and adding, "Few people mention how the promotion of unisex toilets benefits not only minority groups but also many others."
Zhong Shao and Lu Cheng fell silent.
The concept of "unisex toilet" or "third restrooms," originating from Thailand, was initially established to protect the rights of the transgender community by creating a third type of restroom. Overseas, it is also known as a beautiful and humanised term: gender-friendly restroom. Evolving over time, it has also served individuals with mobility impairments, assisting those who are unable to care for themselves.
The toilet revolution regarding gender-neutral facilities was first proposed by UNICEF as a transformative measure aimed at improving its facilities in developing countries. Encouraging the creation of a fertility-friendly social environment, the "third toilet" had its specific inception and transformation in China.
In September 2016, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development revised the "Design Standards for Urban Public Restrooms," requiring the inclusion of the "third toilet" in certain categories of fixed public restrooms in cities, public restrooms in secondary and higher-level hospitals, and mobile public restrooms in commercial areas, important public facilities, and key transportation hubs. The following year, the China National Tourism Administration issued a notice on accelerating the construction of "third toilet" (family toilet). The notice emphasised that constructing "third toilet" would enhance tourism public service facilities, address the restroom needs of special groups of tourists, demonstrate humanistic care in the "restroom revolution," and mandate that all 5A-level tourist attractions in the country provide "third restrooms."
However, looking at the present situation, do we have an adequate number of third toilet? Are there enough third restrooms today? Do the current third toilet better protect people's privacy?
The documents in this land, where the rainbow flag cannot freely fly, point to parents with children or elderly, disabled individuals who need assistance as the primary users of unisex toilet. Occasionally, reports mention that transgender individuals are also a key target group. In a society with a large population and under a socialist system, certain matters may require the efforts of generations past, but regardless of the reasons, this is not a justification for any form of violence against a transgender person in unisex facilities.
"There have been quite a few incidents involving minority groups lately," remarked Lu Cheng.
Zhang Shao's lips curved slightly, "Drawing social attention might actually be a good thing."
"What do you think about me turning this into a movie?" Lu Cheng tousled his hair, looking rejuvenated, and said, "There was the Indian toilet revolution, now we have the Chinese defending unisex toilet."
Zhang Shao glanced over, "That's quite an ambition."
Lu Cheng pondered, "Is there a director without ambition?"
Yu Cheng, however, smiled and said, "There's a line from the script that fits well with the unisex toilet revolution.'"
Before Yu Cheng could reveal the line, Lu Cheng and Zhang Shao exchanged glances and simultaneously said, "Does the second gender really have the right to determine and judge a person's life?"