The Perfect Relationship

Chapter 94 Watching the Video Tape

The next day, Shao Junling took the dismantled parts back to school for repair. He tried reinstalling the program and at night and indeed, the machine was able to turn on.

Yin Chang couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, that's amazing."

Shao Junling pulled out the plug and reassembled the cover, "Most of the time, if an electrical device can't be turned on, it's because of this issue. If it's another problem, I may not know."

Anyway, after this ordeal, the VHS tape was finally viewable.

"What are you watching?" Shao Junling asked.

"My dad's movie, I was told it's also about the Three Kingdoms period," Yin Chang put the VHS tape back in, "Do you want to watch it together?"

Shao Junling didn't respond but sat down on the couch as an answer. However, he had to study in the evening so they could only watch for a while.

The screen slowly lit up, showing a continuous palace landscape. The camera zoomed in on the court, where officials bowed their heads and Yin Dong appeared on the throne.

Yin Chang was a little stunned, because the Yin Dong on the screen was quite young.

He calculated in his mind that if this was a movie from fifteen years ago, he was only nine years old then, and Yin Dong was only thirty-one years old.

One benefit of having a father who was an actor was that he left plenty of footage at every age for future generations to remember him by.

But Yin Chang rarely watched Yin Dong's movies because he always felt that the him in the movies didn't actually feel like him. Later, when he became an actor himself, he watched all the movies Yin Dong had acted in from start to finish to observe and learn. But after watching them all, he felt inferior and uncomfortable, so he didn't watch too much.

After a while, Yin Chang realized who Yin Dong was playing and suddenly laughed - it was actually Emperor Wei Mingdi Cao Rui.

Shao Junling also exclaimed, and glanced at Yin Chang. He seemed to think it was quite interesting.

Fifteen years ago, Yin Dong played Cao Rui, and Yin Chang was now going to play Cao Rui's father Cao Pi...

Actually, it's hard to say who Cao Rui's father really was.

Recently, Yin Chang had asked Lu Lingjuan to collect some reading materials from the Three Kingdoms period, including official and unofficial records. One article talked about Emperor Wei Mingdi Cao Rui.

The article said that Lady Zhen originally married Yuan Shao's son Yuan Xi, but later when Ye City fell, Lady Zhen was captured by Cao Cao. Both Cao Pi and Cao Zhi admired her beauty, but Cao Pi married her in the end. However, the dates in historical records showed that Cao Rui was born in the ninth year of Jian'an and Ye City fell in the ninth year of Jian'an. Some people speculated that Lady Zhen was already pregnant with Cao Rui before marrying Cao Pi.

Of course, some historians believed that there was an error in the historical records, otherwise how could Cao Pi let Cao Rui succeed him.

According to some unofficial records, Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were obsessed with Lady Zhen for years. Although Lady Zhen married Cao Pi in the end, Cao Zhi remained infatuated with her. The poem "Luoshen Fu" was written by Cao Zhi for Lady Zhen. Therefore, Cao Pi also had a suspicion that his wife was cheating on him with his younger brother...

Yin Chang picked out some interesting tid bits to tell Shao Junling. After listening, Shao Junling asked, "Have you been reading materials recently?"

"Of course..." Yin Chang raised his arm. He didn't want to be seen as illiterate like when Shao Junling showed him up with the "Seven Step Poem" last time.

Shao Junling smiled and turned his attention back to the screen. He only intended to watch a little bit, but then he realized that he wouldn't have many opportunities to sit and watch movies with his brother like this once he went abroad. So, he decided to accompany him a while longer.

They watched for almost half an hour. Yin Chang vaguely understood that the movie was about the things Cao Rui did to strengthen his imperial power after he ascended to the throne. But maybe because of the protagonist's mysterious background and his repressed upbringing, the Cao Rui played by Yin Dong had a...psychological abnormality.

Yin Chang had read about it in the materials, such as Cao Pi having Lady Zhen executed when Cao Rui was a child, and then raising him under the care of the man who killed his mother. This kind of psychological shadow could drive someone insane even now.

To portray Cao Rui's extravagance, the movie showed him having many concubines in the imperial harem, and even flirting with eunuchs and attendants.

The male attendant played a delicate and beautiful role, deeply loved by Cao Rui. They were so intimate that they slept together...

Yin Chang initially watched with a learning and research-minded attitude and didn't pay much attention, knowing what kind of person Cao Rui was. He thought the movie would only lightly touch on it and wouldn't go too far.

But just then, the scene in front of his eyes caught him off guard - "Cao Rui" suddenly hugged the male attendant and began to roll around...through the curtain, the movements of them undressing were vaguely visible...

Yin Chang: "..."

Shao Junling: "..."

Even though the scene was less than half a minute long, Yin Chang felt like it had lasted an hour.

The TV still occasionally emitted the low laughter of the two men, but the atmosphere outside the TV was frighteningly awkward.

Yin Chang covered his mouth with his fist and was about to say something to ease the tension, but Shao Junling stood up directly, "I'm going to do my homework."

Yin Chang: "..."

After Shao Junling left, Yin Chang continued to suffer alone and watch the movie.

Because Cao Rui was naturally suspicious, he listened to the slander of the small-minded and suspected the attendant of betraying him, so he later banished him out of the palace. The attendant lived his life without seeing Cao Rui again and eventually died after throwing himself into the river. Meanwhile, Cao Rui also spent his energy in the imperial harem and died young.

After watching the movie, Yin Chang understood why it failed to pass the review. Although it focused on the story of Cao Rui after he came to power, the love story revolved around him and the male attendant. In other words, it was a homosexual movie, and both the career and emotional lines were interwoven, so it was impossible to cut either one out.

The movie was really good, maybe because Yin Dong acted too well. In the end, Yin Chang was so into the story that he felt melancholic about the outcome for Cao Rui and his companion.

He wiped his face, sat alone for a while to calm down, and then went back to his room.

Shao Junling was studying quietly in the study room, and Yin Chang didn't bother him. He took a shower and lay in bed to continue studying the script. But as soon as he picked up the material, all he could think about was the image of Yin Dong rolling around in bed with another man...

He thought of Shao Junling's reaction earlier and suddenly felt a sense of guilt as if he had brought his underage brother to watch an inappropriate film.

Yin Chang put down the script and looked at Shao Junling's increasingly handsome profile in the study, reminiscing about when Shao Junling was in junior high two years ago.

Back then, they used to sleep under one blanket. One morning, Yin Chang woke up feeling his leg was wet and immediately remembered the octopus-like behavior of his little brother during the night. Shao Junling also woke up, and for a moment, there was confusion on his face. But it quickly turned into an expression as if he had been struck by lightning.

Yin Chang burst out laughing and teased him about who he had dreamt of last night. Shao Junling was so angry and embarrassed that he had covered his head with a blanket and stalked off to take a shower.

For the next month, Shao Junling refused to sleep with him. He looked uncomfortable and ashamed in front of Yin Chang as if he had committed some terrible crime. Eventually, Yin Chang couldn't stand it and tried to console him, explaining that it was normal. Only then did Shao Junling give him a chance to look at him.

A month later, Shao Junling returned to sleeping with him, but he brought his own blanket with him. Yin Chang didn't bother and found his little brother's awkward, shy, and proud reactions to growing up very amusing.

At the time, Yin Chang had even hoped that Shao Junling would come to him for advice if he ever had questions about puberty, after all, he'd gone through it himself. 

However after the incident, Shao Junling never showed any signs of losing control and became increasingly distant. Yin Chang wondered if he was curious about puberty or how he dealt with his urges.

However, that boy was either studying or practicing martial arts every day, probably too busy to think about such matters. Yin Chang was really impressed by how self-disciplined such a young child could be...

As Yin Chang pondered, he drifted off to sleep. He had no idea when Shao Junling climbed into bed with him in the middle of the night.

The next morning, Shao Junling didn't mention the film from the prior night, to Yin Chang's relief. He comforted himself and pretended as if nothing had happened.

During the day, Yin Chang met with Lu Lingjuan and couldn't help but vent to her, "Why didn't you tell me what that movie was?"

If he had known, he wouldn't have watched it with Shao Junling... It was a sin. His brother was still a child!

"What movie?" Lu Lingjuan asked.

"That video tape Manager Yao gave us," Yin Chang rolled his eyes. "Did you watch it?"

"I'm so busy, no time to watch movies," Lu Lingjuan replied sadly. "What's wrong with the film?"

"For an 'art' film, it was okay, I just hope Shao Junling doesn't think too much about it."

Lu Lingjuan asked, "What about the role-switching?"

"Just let me play Cao Pi, no need to switch anymore," Yin Chang said.

After watching Yin Dong in that movie, Yin Chang had done a lot of self-reflection. Yin Dong's character was completely different from Cao Rui, but he still played the decisive emperor in the palace with such an emotional depth, leaving Yin Chang in awe.

In fact, Yin Dong had played many distinct characters throughout his career. In comparison, Yin Chang always avoided roles he disliked and couldn't be considered a good actor.

"Let's turn this into a new challenge," Yin Chang said.

Yin Chang only found out in March that Shao Junling was preparing to go abroad. When he came home that day, he saw two TOEFL exam books on Shao Junling's desk and asked with a smile, "Have you made up your mind?"

Shao Junling glanced at him and said indifferently, "I'll decide after the exam."

Yin Chang was speechless... Did the boy think admitting that he wanted to study abroad would kill him?

 Author’s Note: Yin Dong: Want your dad to enlighten you? Is it exciting?