After the body intimacy, Yu Cheng took Zhong Shao to meet Zhuo Kai.
Once the competition concluded, everyone gradually lost touch, except for him and Zhuo Kai, who had witnessed each other's ups and downs over the years.
Zhuo Kai didn't come empty-handed; he prepared a copy of "Together" as a gift for Zhong Shao.
"Yu Cheng didn't plan to release this song, and I suspect its significance is different for you both, so I took the liberty of making a copy."
Zhong Shao accepted it with both hands, and upon seeing the cover, his eyes couldn't help but brighten. He tilted his head and asked Yu Cheng, "When did you shoot this?"
The cover featured two pairs of legs intertwined on a white bedsheet. Just by looking at the bedsheet, Zhong Shao could guess that it was taken by Yu Cheng one morning.
Yu Cheng shot him a glance but didn't respond.
A rhetorical question!
With the holiday of "Two Little Ideas" over, Zhong Shao and Yu Cheng headed straight to W County to join Project Group A. Their filming was still ongoing.
The project team continued their meeting in the hotel conference hall, with the main task for the evening being the review of the edited first episode by Zhong Shao and Yu Cheng.
As soon as they finished reviewing, Tan Ye projected his phone screen onto the big screen.
What appeared before everyone was the "Trending Topics" section.
Everyone quickly understood Tan Ye's intention, as the topic #ShouldSanitaryNapkinsBeSoldOnHighSpeedTrains# was HOT.
The issue arose when a female passenger, experiencing irregular periods, found herself on a high-speed train during her cycle but could not purchase sanitary napkins. Ultimately, a crew member provided her with one, averting an embarrassing situation. Other passengers, having heard about the incident, initiated a discussion on the topic, unexpectedly turning it into a trending issue, with women's "period" once again becoming the centre of attention.
Zhong Shao glanced at the comments in the square and calmly yet sarcastically remarked, "Well, this certainly warms us up."
In this public discourse surrounding women's issues, the presence of men is unmistakable. Many of them, standing on their gender privilege, hold their heads high while criticising women's indecisiveness and pretentiousness, their disdain and contempt spilling over the screen. When women challenge their statements, it seems they seize upon a supposed evidence of female wrongdoing, becoming even more radical and baselessly accusing women of "nobility."
Subsequently, a group of accounts updated their statuses in unison:
— Not selling does not mean there is no need.
The mass production of any item is enough to indicate its applicability and necessity. When it is rendered invisible, it is not due to a lack of market, but rather because the so-called everyday needs and dilemmas are habitually marginalised. Girls are pointed at for staining their pants due to "period poverty," yet no one knows that among them are those suffering from the pain brought on by menstruation; women endure hormonal imbalances in their struggle for equal opportunities with men, but no one can accurately predict the consequences of this struggle.
The cultural environment of society has rendered "sanitary pads" a private topic, leading to a lack of public knowledge about women's menstrual health, compounded by the belief that "menstruation" is solely a woman's issue. When people feel ashamed to speak of "menstruation" and "periods," the euphemism "Da Yi Ma" emerges, and thus "menstrual shame" becomes a sadly laughable aspect of social culture.
Silence, an overwhelming silence, but after the silence comes a breaking point. Thus, girls and women, represented by Generation Z, rise up, igniting a movement called "No Period Shame."
On another front, the "Toilet Renovation Project" at seven schools in W County has officially been completed. Zhong Shao and Yu Cheng, along with several sociologists, architects, and educators, meticulously verify the renovated restrooms. Yao Lan jokes with Zhong Shao, "Zhong Shao, you seem to have quite the connection with toilets."
Zhong Shao ponders for a moment, "Who can argue with that?"
As the verification nears its conclusion, Yu Cheng consults his fellow scholars on a few professional queries.
Two days later, the new restrooms are officially put into use.
A week later, on May 17.
L Station releases the trailer for the documentary "STAND+," while the official STAND+ social media account is launched. Netizens are astonished to learn that the producers of the programme are Zhong Shao and Yu Cheng, as both men simultaneously update their statuses.
Zhong Shao shares an experimental painted video created by photographer Si Ang and body painter Teng Hui. The short film captures Teng Hui's body painting on various parts of Zhong Shao's body within a pure white three-dimensional space. His cheeks, arms, chest, back, calves, and the tops of his feet are adorned with highly contrasting abstract colors. After six hours of painting, the partial artwork is completed, with the remaining work handed over to Si Ang, while Teng Hui supervises from the side.
The theme of this painting is "The True Colors of Life."
Against a pure white backdrop, Zhong Shao engages his neural perception, stretching and contracting with vigour, brilliantly interpreting the scene whether in close-up or wide shot.
Si Ang's camera clicks rapidly, while Teng Hui watches with bated breath, her fingers tightly clenched; Zhong Shao's expressiveness undoubtedly strikes a chord deep within.
For a body painter, nothing is more exhilarating than a model who can vividly embody the themes and creative expressions explored by the artist.
Si Ang captured hundreds of images, from which Teng Hui selected seven original shots, leaving the textures and imperfections unretouched.
Each set of images presents different perspectives of the same detail, and the seven sets are integrated from top to bottom, transforming abstract representation into something tangible.
Amidst the vibrant colors and patterns, they form seven white letters — IDAHOTB.
International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.
These images were taken two days before the launch of the "STAND+" project.
Zhong Shao embraced this subtle yet direct artistic creation and photography, motivated not only by the theme and friendship but also by another idea they shared.
Si Ang and Teng Hui are a couple, deeply connected with the "JiYu CP," and Si Ang has long collaborated with Zhong Shao as a photographer, while Teng Hui has been a friend of Yu Cheng for many years.
With this bond in mind, they wished to invite Si Ang and Teng Hui to collaborate on capturing their "wedding photos."
The following day, the two couples met again at the same location. This time, the photography theme was proposed by the "JiYu CP," and based on their creative vision, Teng Hui began by painting the two individuals. Zhong Shao was adorned in a pure black shirt and trousers, while Yu Cheng donned a pure white shirt and trousers. They revealed their most honest postures, exchanged the most intimate glances, and focused on each other with a burning intensity, embodying the conceptual idea of "oneness" in a tangible form.
At the end of the shoot, Teng Hui dressed the two men in suit jackets, and against a red backdrop, the two, holding onto a red string, solidified their bond.
As two avant-garde artists who have gained recognition in the industry, the lens captured the two men with an intensity that can only be described as "burning desire."
Their sincere emotions radiated, forming a unity that felt almost fated. Naturally, these original images were privately collected by the "JiYu CP."
On the other side of the social media trending charts, discussions among netizens are lively regarding the body painting photos of the group led by the producer of "STAND+" and Zhong Shao. This series of images, deemed overly "artistic" by the public, marks Zhong Shao's most explicit work since his debut. This explicitness carries no connotation of obscenity or distaste; even those who do not understand the letters that form a connection can still perceive the strong sense of "upward momentum" reflected in the images.
Each individual possesses a robust vitality that propels them forward.
Of course, even if Zhong Shao refrains from voicing those letters, his fans have already filled the comment section with "99999999999."
In resonance with the "The True Colors of Life" series, the theme for the United Nations' 517 event this year is: "Our Bodies, Our Lives, Our Rights."
After liking Zhong Shao's social media post, Yu Cheng seized the moment to share the United Nations' 517 theme video, boldly and directly stating: the essence of gender diversity is that basic human rights are respected equally and are inviolable. Everyone has the right to fully realise their potential by exercising bodily autonomy, as this is the foundation for establishing other human rights.
Subsequently, Lu Cheng and others shared the "STAND+" trailer, manually reposting with the comment: "Our Bodies, Our Lives, Our Rights."