The two arrived at a mysterious trading post.
To prevent what happened tonight from happening again—being forcibly kissed by Rong Jingyang, unable to resist at all—Du Ruoxin decided to equip herself with more gear.
Ring anesthetics, pepper spray, and so on.
Women are a vulnerable group, insignificant in front of men, easily subdued with a light touch.
This is determined by the physical structure of men and women, an insurmountable gap.
Du Ruoxin did not believe that by reading a few romance novels, with heroines possessing immense strength, one woman could take down dozens of men, making herself feel powerful and capable of challenging Rong Jingyang's male strength.
She was not that naive, nor that ungrateful.
The 'cool' character archetypes in romance novels, the fantasy dramas of female special forces, were meant to be enjoyed and then forgotten. Taking them seriously would lead to a tragic end.
At least in this life, she had never even considered defeating Rong Jingyang in terms of physical strength.
Therefore, she wanted to increase her chances of protecting herself. If she encountered Rong Jingyang's barbaric... that again, she would rely on her brain—wit.
"What's the dosage?" Du Ruoxin asked, putting on the heavily-mechanized ring.
The owner replied, "Enough to knock out a tiger."
Du Ruoxin mused: Rong Jingyang = Tiger?
Uncertain, she asked again, "What about a man weighing over 190 pounds?"
The owner answered, "Enough to knock him out three times."
Du Ruoxin felt relieved. After confirming the usage method and precautions with the owner, she left the trading post.
---
The next day
Du Ruoxin's eyelids had been twitching incessantly, without reason, and quite violently.
As the saying goes, the left eye twitching means wealth, and the right eye twitching means disaster.
With both eyes twitching, how unlucky was she?
Perhaps she shouldn't go out today? Maybe visit a Taoist temple, a Buddhist temple, or a church to ward off disaster? Or pray for blessings?
When Miranda heard Du Ruoxin asking about a church, she let out a chuckle, "Sister Xin, what's wrong?"
Putting her arm around Du Ruoxin's waist, she leaned close to her ear and whispered mischievously, "Is it just one Rong Jingyang that's making you so neurotic?"
Du Ruoxin vehemently denied it, "Where?"
She was just—
"I am a devout believer." Yes, she believed in Buddha, Tao, and Jesus. Whichever deity could grant her wish, she would believe in them; she wasn't picky.
Du Ruoxin spoke nonsense with a serious expression, "Don't you remember me persuading you to believe in Guanyin eight or nine years ago?" She paused, "In the past few years, I've gained new knowledge. I'll teach you to believe in Lao Tzu and Guiguzi another day."
Lao Tzu's name was Li Er, the ancestor of Taoism. Guiguzi's name was Wang Xu, also known as Wang Chan, said to be the patriarch of metaphysics.
Miranda: "—"
She recalled when they were young and naive, Sister Xin had played tricks on them, gifting each of them a statue of the child-sending Guanyin...
She had cried for a long time.
Miranda stiffened, "Uh—"
Forget it.
Forget it.
She believed in nothing but herself.
Believe in yourself, and you shall live forever!
"Hahahaha." Laughing to cover her embarrassment, Miranda said, "Let's call Caroline, Nini, and Grace. I don't want a 1-on-1 private lesson."
"Hahaha."
The two of them exchanged a knowing smile.
It was as if all their bad premonitions were dispelled by the laughter.
After a few more exchanges, Du Ruoxin and Miranda began their respective tasks. Miranda, as the chief director, was naturally the busiest, handling all matters related to filming.
Du Ruoxin was merely assisting, not particularly busy, but she couldn't stay idle.
In addition to performing her main duty—being a qualified art director—she also took on the role of director for the second unit.
Handling both editing and filming.
To meet deadlines, films were usually shot by several camera crews simultaneously.
The footage would then be edited into a complete film.
After finishing her pre-production work, Du Ruoxin headed towards the second unit's shooting location.
Suddenly, someone called her from behind.
"Du! Ruo! Xin!"
---
ps: Little darlings who can read this far are true fans. A side note.
Every time I hear or see news about a woman being murdered by a man, I feel a lingering fear.
Women's strength is indeed less than men's. It's true, true, true.
So if one day, a girl unfortunately encounters a perverted man, a creepy man, or a thieving man, do not confront them directly. You must use your wits to outsmart them. Your life is paramount, isn't it?