Filming concluded with the arrival of mid-April. Zhong Shao and Yu Cheng visited Tao Tao once. She had been discharged from the hospital, awaiting the lengthy process of rehabilitation. Despite facing two men who embodied looks, height, talent, and character, she gathered courage and asked with a curious gleam in her eyes, "Um, Simeon, may I sincerely ship 'Ji Yu'?"
Zhong Shao, maintaining a neutral expression, simply held Yu Cheng's hand and raised it, intertwining their fingers, while a graceful curve formed at the corner of his eye, "May as you wish."
Lu Cheng presented an unscreened version of the film "Same or Not" as a gift to the "JiYu CP."
Zhong Shao and Yu Cheng nestled on the couch in the audiovisual studio, with the screen's light and shadow casting upon their faces.
"What were you thinking when shooting this scene?"
Zhong Shao whispered into Yu Cheng's ear.
Unable to resist Zhong Shao's teasing, Yu Cheng pressed the pause button. The image froze on Ji Chen grabbing Yu Yue's collar in the pouring rain.
The scene where Ji Chen confessed to Yu Yue in the heavy rain has been adapted into a scenario where two equally matched teammates engage in a tactical showdown due to conflicting opinions on the Alpha sexual assault case, resulting in a physical altercation in the rain.
The Alpha sexual assault case has subtly shaken Ji Chen's determination.
Before the differentiation of secondary genders, Ji Chen was not a candidate with strong combat abilities. The transient wandering was only part of his childhood, while more of it was the violence from undifferentiated humans and the malicious jokes from Alphas after the secondary gender had differentiated, which he, not being particularly strong, had to endure.
Climbing out of the mire, he saw the world's shades of grey clearer than anyone else, so much so that he differentiated into an Alpha earlier than usual. His childhood in the swamp did not make him develop resistance towards Alphas as the second gender. On the contrary, his calm rationality was marked with kindness, and he saw being an Alpha as a social responsibility – the first gender being female is not wrong, and the second gender as Beta and Omega are even no wrong because the social definition of strength does not equate to truth, but those in power in the second gender need to treat Beta and Omega equally.
This sense of responsibility propelled him to where he stands today. Therefore, he was the first to firmly advocate for the equality protection law between the first and second genders.
However, the widespread occurrence, numerous victims, and deep impact of the Alpha sexual assault cases have shaken his long-held beliefs. He began to doubt whether he, as an Alpha of the second gender, was qualified to express his views and stance on the matter. Worse still, he stubbornly saw being an Alpha as a disgrace.
Every night became unbearably difficult for him. He couldn't sleep, occasionally falling into darkness, haunted by nightmares. He longed to ask his mother how to proceed, but received no answer.
There is no moon or stars in sight, the weather forecast predicts heavy rain for tomorrow.
On the rooftop of the command centre, Yu Yue grasped Ji Chen's distraction and heard him say, "Yu Yue, I want to strategically withdraw."
As rivals and teammates for a decade, Yu Yue could sense some of Ji Chen's thoughts hidden beneath his cold facade, a sense of insecurity.
"What do you mean by 'strategic withdrawal'?" Yu Yue stared at Ji Chen, his eyes darkening.
Ji Chen replied, "I will be your right-hand man in the shadows."
He remembered the words they exchanged when they took on this mission.
—— When you are surrounded, I will stand behind you with the unwavering strength to sweep away the millions of enemy troops.
"Ji Chen, you're capable of, what's wrong?" A sudden thunderclap echoed through the sky, and Yu Yue grabbed Ji Chen's collar, "If you remember that, then have you forgotten what you said when we accepted this mission?"
Ji Chen's hands clenched by his sides as he replied, "I haven't forgotten."
He recalled his response when Yu Yue asked why Alpha was chosen to fire the first shot in the battle for gender equality.
—— Because the social management system established by Interstellar from the beginning has never changed the gender bias and discrimination in planetary society. Whether first or second gender, only the male Alphas deemed strongest by the public can step forward. Only then can males and females, Betas and Omegas, not be constantly scrutinized by this society dominated by patriarchy and male alphas. They won't be judged or scrutinized based on external factors like skin colour, attractiveness, or age, won't be mocked for being beta, or stereotyped as weak and reproductive tools for being omega. Only when we step forward can they have more rightful social and expressive opportunities, rights, and protections in this interstellar space. Only then does this interstellar have a hint of meaning.
"You remember?" Yu Yue let out a sigh, as the torrential rain poured down, unable to obscure the anger in their eyes as they locked gaze, one filled with annoyance, the other with a look of distress.
"You remember?" Yu Yue repeated, his breath rising to his chest, pulling their arms closer, "So tell me, as an Alpha to another Alpha, how do you perceive Alphas right now? Are you willing to say it? Can you honestly and openly speak out?"
Ji Chen's lips pressed tightly together, his clenched fists trembling, using all his strength to restrain the surge of emotions in front of Yu Yue.
"Can't say it, can you?" Yu Yue seemed to be asking Ji Chen, almost providing him with an answer, "What do you think Alpha is? Beta? Omega? Just different human reproductive second genders."
The choked-up emotions erupted like a punishment from the heavens, fearless of the relentless downpour.
Ji Chen grabbed Yu Yue's soaked collar at the throat, his eyes cold as the abyss, "But it's just your so-called second gender, determining who the victims are!"
In the heavy rain, the two individuals grabbing each other's collars were indistinguishably dishevelled.
Almost simultaneously, both let go of each other's collars.
In an instant, they resumed their power struggle within the curtain of rain.
"Yes! Alpha is the perpetrator! But based on this, are you going to negate the personality of all Alphas?"
Yu Yue's elbow struck Ji Chen's scapula forcefully, causing him to stagger a step, using his forearm to block Yu Yue's next punch.
"What concern are others to me, I only negate myself, is that not allowed!"
"It's not allowed!" Yu Yue roared, "Why do you negate yourself."
The two stepped back, preparing for an attack.
The heavy rain blurred their vision, but the crimson in their eyes continued to clash. Ji Chen was not someone who easily leaked emotions, but the emotions and feelings he desperately restrained burst out like a flood, "Because I am me."
"You are wrong, you are not just yourself." Yu Yue swiftly took two steps, grabbing Ji Chen's right wrist, as Ji Chen raised his left hand, Yu Yue powered an attack along Ji Chen's forearm, swiftly turning around and executing a shoulder throw.
Ji Chen fell to his knees on the ground, as he looked up, he heard Yu Yue say from a step away, "Back."
"You are not just yourself, you are also my back. From the moment we took on the mission, we are not opponents or teammates, but comrades. Only comrades possess loyalty, only they can entrust their back. You can trust me without reservation, you can bring any monsters that threaten interstellar border security to justice, I will bear all consequences with you, but you cannot cowardly shrink in the darkroom!"
Ji Chen stood up in response to Yu Yue's words, raised his eyelids, and stared straight into Yu Yue's eyes, "Yes, you are right. Cowardice is my true nature, my essence! Are we really the same as Alphas? No, we are not the same. You were a strong individual before becoming an Alpha, but I was not. Before becoming a high-ranking Alpha, I was just a wanderer, drifting from one planet to another, not knowing who my biological father was, not knowing what stability meant, and not knowing how to live my life. When I was young, those who bullied me were either ordinary humans stronger than me or already differentiated Alphas, yet every time, every time I was lifted from the filthy garbage heap, it was by Betas and Omegas, without exception."
He spoke calmly, the heavy rain almost drowning out Ji Chen's voice.
Yu Yue did not know the full story behind this, but he understood what it meant when one person could reveal their unknown past to another. It was about trusting completely and feeling helpless, grasping at a lifeline.
Yu Yue and Ji Chen stood facing each other like this, indifferent to the weight falling heavily.
The crimson in their eyes gradually faded, replaced by mutual understanding.
Yu Yue spoke again, revealing Ji Chen's inner desire word by word, "Stability is not only what you desire, but also the consensus of most interstellar beings. To achieve this 'harmony,' the primary goal is the sustainable development of interstellar gender equality, encompassing not only equality between the first gender of male and female, but also the second gender. This path was not initiated by you or me; countless individuals have marched on this path before us, and we are just declaring our stance at a certain station."
"Today's heavy rain will not dampen us tomorrow, and those who committed sins yesterday will face the consequences tomorrow. Similarly, you cannot deny your identity as an Alpha because the interstellar responsibility you uphold has always been in your heart."
As the rain subsided, Yu Yue leaned close to Ji Chen's ear and uttered the final words.
"Also, because I know, you like me."
This line, in this scene, became a riddle in the movie, as well as Yu Cheng's response.