The Perfect Relationship

as taken aback.
He chuckled.
This kid was catching on.

He hung his coat in the wardrobe, wearing only a slim black cashmere sweater that accentuated his tall and lean figure.

“You need to speak more,” he replied.

Shao Junling: “…”

Yin Chang took a piece of hotel notepad from the bedside table and sat down on the single sofa by the tea table.
He motioned for Shao Junling to come over.

As Shao Junling approached, Yin Chang pulled him to sit between his legs.
This action reminded Shao Junling of that fearful time when his nails were trimmed.
He squirmed with unease until the moment Yin Chang waved around a box of colored pens he’d magically pulled out from behind him.

Shao Junling: “!”

Yin Chang coaxed him with a simple English sentence.
“Do you like this?”

He chose a very basic sentence that Shao Junling must have heard in his English class at school.
Although he might not fully understand the words yet, a familiar context could lead to comprehension.

Sure enough, after Shao Junling looked at it for a while, he hesitantly responded with a “Yes.”

Yin Chang chuckled lightly and repeated, “Do you like this? Yes or No.”

Shao Junling: “…Yes.”

Yin Chang opened the box of pens in front of him and took out a red one, asking in English again, “What color is this?”

Shao Junling guessed, “…Red.”

Yin Chang said, “See, you can understand.
English is simple, right?”

Shao Junling: “…”

Yin Chang then drew three pentagrams of different colors on the paper and said, “Pick the blue one.”

This was a passage Shao Junling had copied in his exam paper, but Yin Chang changed “red” to “blue” and “kite” to “star”.

Shao Junling instinctively pointed at the blue one.

Then Yin Chang wrote out the sentence again and asked him, “I just said this sentence.
Do you recognize it?”

Shao Junling looked at it carefully and gradually connected the sentence in front of him with the meaningless characters in his mind.
His eyes widened.

Yin Chang translated the words for him, helping him understand the meaning of each word.
Then, using different colored pens, he wrote down the English word for each color, and handed the paper to him, saying, “When you can recall the English word for each color…this box of pens will be yours.”

Shao Junling thought to himself, “Isn't it easy to memorize these?”

But then Yin Chang added, “Oh, and you have to be able to pronounce them accurately too.”

Shao Junling: “…………”

Over the next two days, Yin Chang had to go to the photo studio arranged by the Svenky headquarters to take official endorsement photos and promotional videos.

Shao Junling followed along with Lu Lingjuan.
He watched Yin Chang be surrounded by a crowd of makeup artists and stylists, get dressed up and strike one perfect pose after another in front of a backdrop, shining and flawless.

Because he was working, Yin Chang's demeanor was completely different from the day before.
He was fully engaged and focused, and so were the studio staff.

The professional atmosphere also infected Shao Junling, who couldn't take his eyes off Yin Chang.
He felt that this person was so close, yet could disappear at any moment.
The feeling of surrealness was just like the first time he’d met him.
When Yin Chang had flipped over the wall and had walked slowly towards him with the light shining brightly behind him…

But he…

He was merely the son of a murderer, a “little mad dog” that everyone avoided and despised.

The feeling of insecurity that he could be abandoned and hated by his brother at any moment made Shao Junling shudder.
He frantically pulled out the colorful word list from his pocket and hid in a corner, murmuring the words softly.

After two days of intense shooting, it was finally time for them to relax and enjoy some free time.

Svenky arranged a special tour guide for Yin Chang and the others.
They recommended the famous “Golden Pass” sightseeing route, which was a collection of the most beautiful sceneries in Switzerland, highlighting their unique charm in every season whether it was spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

The three of them followed the plan provided by the tour guide, taking a train from Zurich to the sightseeing train in Lucerne, heading to Interlaken.

As they entered the Golden Pass, they saw a continuously unfolding panorama outside the window, with misty mountains and cold lakes under the gentle sunlight.
Small, golden red wooden houses peeked out amidst the glistening white snow.
It felt as though they were in a fairytale world created by Hans Christian Andersen.

Shao Junling was glued to the window.
Motionless.
Amazed by the view.

Lu Lingjuan also couldn't stop gasping at the enchanting beauty of this wonderland.
“Yin Chang, thanks to you, I finally got to visit one of the places I've always wanted to see, the Golden Pass.
I originally planned to come with my own family after getting married and having children…”

Yin Chang glanced at Lu Lingjuan and Shao Junling sitting opposite him and casually said, “Isn't it like we're a family too?”

Hearing this, Lu Lingjuan and Shao Junling both turned their heads at the same time, one surprised and the other expressionless.

“We? You, you…and I…” Lu Lingjuan looked at Yin Chang, then at Shao Junling.
She blushed, awkwardly gesturing with one hand, “How could I have such a big child!”

Yin Chang, seeing the situation, realized he’d gone too far with the joke.
“Just kidding! I didn’t mean anything by it.”

He really felt like he was father to Shao Junling.
And especially since Lu Lingjuan had been taking care of the both of them this whole time, if it weren't for the age issue, they really looked like a couple taking their naughty child on a trip.

It was lunchtime once they got off the train at Interlaken.

There were several snack stalls near the station.
A strong smell of sausages wafted over.
Yin Chang saw Shao Junling craning his neck towards that direction and couldn't help but ask him, “Do you want to eat hot dogs?”

“Hot dogs?” Shao Junling asked with wide eyes, “Dog meat?”

Yin Chang asked Lu Lingjuan and the tour guide to wait while he personally led Shao Junling to buy it.
He teasingly handed the first hot dog made by the server to Shao Junling and said, “Take a look, is it dog meat?”

Shao Junling shook his head.
“It's a sausage.”

Yin Chang bought one for Lu Lingjuan and the tour guide, and asked Shao Junling to give one to Lu Lingjuan.
“Give this to Sister.”

Shao Junling looked at him, then turned his head to look at Lu Lingjuan wasn’t far away.
He obediently walked over.

Lu Lingjuan, seeing Shao Junling handing her the hot dog, had a delighted expression on her face.
She was about to thank him when she heard the three words from the child, “Auntie, for you.”

Lu Lingjuan: “???” Damnit! Does this brat want to die?!!!

After resting for a while in the town, led by the tour guide, they headed to Jungfrau next, a snow-capped mountain peak that was part of the Swiss Alps, and a famous local attraction.

Haicheng was a coastal city located on the southeast corner of China.
It rarely snowed in the winter, and Shao Junling had never seen snow from birth until now.
He had no idea what it was like.

All morning, they’d traveled here from Lucerne.
Although there were many snowy scenes along the way, they only saw them through the train window.
It wasn't until they took the cable car at Jungfrau that Shao Junling saw real, thickly covered snow.

He stepped onto the snow, leaving a footprint.
He slowly opened his eyes wide, gathered courage, and walked forward, creating more footprints…
He walked towards a short tree covered with snow, reached out and softly poked the snow on top.

He shook one of the branches, and all the snow scattered, landing on the ground with a light “plop plop plop” sound.
Shao Junling, having discovered something new and fascinating, suddenly became super excited.
He jumped around in the snow like a monkey, grabbing a handful of snow here and there.

“Shao Junling!” Yin Chang frowned and called him, “Come! Get in the car.”

Shao Junling hurried back, grasping a ball of snow in his hand.
His nose was red from the cold, but he didn't feel cold at all.

 Vignette

Shao Junling: Brother, how can I learn English well?

Yin Chang: Speak more.

(Then assigns him homework): If you can memorize this, I'll give you colored pens.

Shao Junling (holding the colorful vocabulary list): I can't even speak Chinese well, and now I also have to speak English! So frustrated.