Chapter 21: CH 21

Chapter 21: IQ Test

When Yin Chang returned, like experiencing freedom from captivity for the first time, Lu Lingxuan eagerly rushed out to greet him. She welcomed him home: “You are finally back!”

Yin Chang glanced at her arm: “Is your injury ok?”

Lu Lingxuan: “I’m alright. The scratches were relatively shallow and only one was deep enough to draw blood. I took care of it myself with bacitracin ointment and a band-aid.”

Yin Chang gave her a gift and said:  “For your troubles. You have worked hard for the past few days.”

Holding the box of high-end skin-care products, Lu Lingxuan was caught off guard. Normally, she wouldn’t think about purchasing them because they would cost her a half-month’s salary. Feeling mentally exhausted, her emotions welled up and caused the corner of her eyes to dampen: “Anyways, it was worth this reward.”

While standing a little distance away, Shao Junling was watching their interaction. Yin Chang smiled and looked over Lu Lingxuan’s shoulder towards Shao Junling.  As their eyes met, Yin Chang watched as Shao Junling looked at him unapologetically without a care in the world. He didn’t seem to understand the trouble he caused

Yao Manhuai had ordered food for them in advance. Together, the four ate a simple meal. Yin Chang knew of the difficulties that Lu Lingxuan experienced during the week of his absence and assumed she must be tired so he had Yao Manhuai drive her home after dinner.

Before leaving, Lu Lingxuan quietly told Yin Chang: “You’d better take the time to cut Shao Junling’s fingernails. I gave him a nail clipper a few days ago, but he never used it. I don’t know if he didn’t want to use them or was afraid of being cut. Regardless, I was afraid of cutting them for him.”

Yin Chang: “…”

As soon as Yao Manhuai and Lu Lingxuan left, the apartment fell silent.

Shao Junling didn’t speak at all. He went to play with his toys alone. Yin Chang didn’t know what to say to him so he went to unpack his bags alone. Afterwards, Yin Chang took a hot bath. By the time he finished, it was getting rather late.

Even though it was past his bedtime, Shao Junling hadn’t returned to his room to sleep yet. When Yin Chang saw his empty room, he walked over to the sofa and asked: “Why aren’t you in bed?”

Hearing his question, Shao Junling turned his head to look at Yin Chang. His eyes reveled a trace of resentment.

Yin Chang was surprised by his attitude. Narrowing his brow, he saw the nail clippers on the coffee table and was reminded of Lu Lingxuan’s instructions. While sitting down on the sofa, he motioned him over and commanded: “Come here.”

Shao Junling immediately got up and moved to Yin Chang’s side.

“Hands out, ” Yin Chang added.

With bright expectant eyes, Shao Junling presented his palms with his fingers spread out. He was caught by surprised when Yin Chang grabbed both of his hands and turned them over to inspect his nails.

…… They really were long!

Yin Chang reached out to grab the nail clippers that were laying on the coffee table.

Realizing what Yin Chang was about to do, Shao Junling quickly retracted his hand and stared at him angrily.

Yan Chang also squinted at him in rising anger. He imagined Shao Junling in front of Lu Lingxuan barring his teeth and clawing her.  He raised his voice: “You dare refuse.”

Lightning fast, he snatched Shao Junling’s hand. Shao Junling tried to struggle, but it was futile. Not only were they years apart in age and thus Yin Chang was physically superior, he also had years of martial arts training. A ten-year old was absolutely suppressed.

Yin Chang effortlessly wrapped his legs and long arms around him to prevent him from escaping. Then, he readjusted his grip on Shao Junling’s hands and with a command, he whispered in Shao Junling’s ear: ”Don’t move.”

Grunting, Shao Junling struggled to break free, but no matter how much Shao Junling tried, he was tightly fixed in Yin Chang’s arms. His small face became flushed.

No matter what his reaction was, Yin Chang ignored it. He grabbed the clippers and while he proceeded to cleanly trim his nails, he lectured Shao Junling by speaking directly in his ear: “In the future, you will never scratch anyone else.”

The sudden release of Yin Chang’s wrapped arms surprised Shao Junling. He jerked away from him and looked down at his blunt fingertips. Like a cat whose weapons were suddenly stripped, he fled back to his room in panic.

After getting up the next day, Yin Chang took the dejected Shao Junling to a specialist that would test his IQ.

They went to a professional institution that specialized in determining a child’s developmental status. The whole process took three hours. During the test, there were several steps such as question and answer, physical movement observation, and games. The test evaluated more than a dozen indicators, including fine and gross motor control, logic, and verbal comprehension. At the end of the testing period, an analyst reported the results one-by-one with the child’s guardian.

Yin Chang worried about Shao Junling’s stubbornness and lack of cooperation. However, under the friendly care of the specialists at the organization, Shao Junling behaved very well and the three-hour test was completed without incident. Moreover, the results greatly exceeded the expectations of Yin Chang and Yao Manhuai.

Far from being mentally retarded, Shao Junling was rated by experts as a highly intelligent.

“…… A high IQ?” Yin Chang glanced at Shao Junling sitting not far away eating his Haagen-Dazs ice cream. Since it wasn’t uncommon for Shao Junling to misbehave, Yin Chang had thought of a reward ahead of time. As long as Shao Junling finished taking the test without an issue, Yin Chang had promised to buy him an ice cream cone.

While Yin Chang was thankful for Shao Junling’s superior IQ results, the results in some ways were seriously substandard. The sub-par areas were with regards to his expressive ability and speech comprehension. He didn’t understand humor. This area is what the layman call: Emotional Quotient. Experts say that most people’s EQ are cultivated by the environment. In other words, what a person experiences in live are and by the influence of others. Children with high EQs do not necessarily have high IQs.

According to his documents, Shao Junling had lived on the streets alone before going to the welfare home. Obviously, there wasn’t enough interaction with people for him to learn properly. Also, it was very likely that he closed himself off emotionally because of the experiences in his past. As a result, he naturally refused to talk to the people he didn’t want to have contact with.

Regardless of his emotional deficiencies, it didn’t effect Shao Junling ’s natural level of intelligence. Experts are even optimistic about his future. As long as he was positively influenced, the walls he built around himself would slowly crumble. By engaging with many different people, he would learn social norms and be able to communicate better. In fact, because of his high intelligence, he should learn even faster than the average person.

After returning home from the test, Yin Chang felt differently about Shao Junling. Even the back of him playing Lego by himself seemed to have the brilliance of a genius.

A few days later, Yao Manhuai called Yin Chang. She informed him that Dee International would accept Shao Junling admission with his financial support without a problem.

“Maybe we could let Shao Junling take the Dee International entrance exam….,” Yin Chang boldly suggested to Yao Manhuai.

On the phone, Yao Manhuai’s mouth twitched: “Are you sure? The entrance exams were different from professional intelligence tests that are designed to test cognitive abilities. A school mainly checks a child’s comprehensive knowledge. No matter how high Shao Junling’s IQ is, there are things he never learned without a proper school.”

Yin Chang hesitated but ultimately decided: “Have him try it.”

He didn’t care about the money. Simply, he didn’t want the school to treat him differently because of his investment status.  If he was as smart as the test says, as long as Shao Junling worked hard and studied, he would definitely catch up to his peers in no time.

After listening to Yin Chang ’s request, Yao Manhuai contacted several pre-school training institutions to see if any experts were willing to provide short-term one-on-one tutoring. She didn’t fight battles unprepared.

During the time that Shao Junling was frantically making up for his lack of education, Yin Chang officially began his career in the entertainment industry.

Together, Yao Manhuai and Lu Lingxuan evaluated all of Yin Chang’s offers, such as TV appearances, fashion shows, brand endorsements, and chose a project that was most suitable for him to start his career.

Lacking experience in acting, Yin Chang didn’t feel confident about appearing in a TV drama. However, he was well-spoken and didn’t lack personable skills and thus, taking pictures shouldn’t be very difficult. With Yin Chang’s input, they decided to set up a photo shoot for a major fashion magazine, thus debuting as a model.

Lu Lingxuan immediately contacted a subsidiary company that published a magazine called, “New People”. The magazine’s reputation preceded itself because the Editors were very selective with whom they would interview. It wasn’t just any star that could be interviewed. Only the most talented and most promising entertainers were offered an interview. If you were published in New People, you were practically insured a successful career

Yin Chang’s obtained the most special packaged. An exclusive full color, eighteen-page interview and the cover image of the magazine. Including the ads, his interview accounted for a quarter of the magazine. The last person to receive such treatment was a new idol named Mi Xiu who was very popular a few years ago.

The interview was conducted in the studio of the publishing company and the staff member conducting the interview was very excited as she had seen Yin Chang at his father’s memorial service. The way Yin Chang conducted himself at the ceremony gave evidence to his steady temperament. Combined with his superb physical features, Yin Chang made a lasting impression on the woman.

His father’s death brought Yin Chang to the forefront and by necessity, Yin Chang was in the thick of things. Now, there were both unanswered questions and curious eyes following him.

Energetically, the woman conducting the interview approached him and excitedly exclaimed: “Yin Chang, it’s nice to see you again!”

“Hello.”

“Yao Manhuai has informed me that this will be your first official interview with the media. Thank you for giving us your precious ‘first time’.” The female reporter said humorously.

“It’s also my pleasure. “

“Then, let’s get started. Watch me and ignore the camera. Don’t be nervous. It’s just like chatting with friends.”

“Okay……”

There were many questions asked during the interview including basic information about yin Chang like his horoscope, and blood type. In addition, they asked him about his hobbies. As the interview pressed on, she dug for more information and asked him questions about his life experiences growing up. From time to time, Yin Chang looked at the camera and spoke to the audience. He knew in his heart that after this, he really couldn’t return to the life of an ordinary person.

Even though the magazine was interviewing him, they weren’t going to miss the opportunity to discuss his father Yin Dong. “As everyone knows, you are the son of the deceased movie star, Yin Dong. I would like to ask you, in your eyes, what kind of person was he?”

Lu Lingxuan had Yin Chang prepare his answers ahead of time and although he continued to carry some resentment in his heart, he cleanly and effortlessly delivered his answer. He calmly stated: “He was a steady, down-to-earth man. A dedicated actor and gentle father. I love him very much.”

“It’s been two months since Yin Dong accident. How are you?”

“I’m feeling better, but since he has brought so much to my life, it becomes painful when I think of him. It’s been difficult letting him go.”

“Is that how you feel? It seems you had a rather deep relationship with your father….”

Originally, the interview was supposed to end after asking about his father. As the woman gathered her notes into a pile and placed them in a folder, she looked up at Yin Chang and smiled. Although she was casual about it, she unexpectedly asked: “I heard you have a younger brother now. Are you getting along?”

Yin Chang was stunned. The question was prying into his privacy and outside his expectations. He quickly evaluated the reporter’s conduct and even though she had been extremely polite for the duration of the interview, it seemed like this was the real question that she wanted to ask. Knowing the intent behind the question wasn’t completely wholesome, he relaxed himself and calmly answered her: ”Yes. We’re good.”

The female reporter followed up with another question: “Are you living together?”

Yin Chang: “Yes.”

The female reporter looked at Yin Chang eyes and asked: “Tell me about his strengths.” Watching his reaction for a moment and hearing a continued silence, she pressed him and said: “You can’t think of one? It’s ok to tell me about his flaws.”

Hearing the question, Lu Lingxuan was nervous. She wasn’t far away waving her arms crazily trying to get his attention.

Of course, Yin Chang knew the question couldn’t be answered so casually. Although he really wanted to talk about the various shortcomings of Shao Junling, if he really spoke his mind, rumors would end up spreading about being at odds with one another and as a result, the masses would conclude that his previous actions were all just for show. Ultimately, he would be shunned.

Yin Chang quickly adjusted himself. He smiled slightly at the female reporter and showed a hint of pride. He answered her: “My brother has a very high IQ.” Apart from his IQ score, Yin Chang couldn’t really think of anything else to say

Female reporter: “…”

On their way back home after the interview, Lu Lingxuan scrunched her face and complained to Yin Chang about the women conducting the interview: “Wow, that reporter was rather cunning. Fortunately, you reacted fast enough!”

Yin Chang also scrunched his face, but unlike Lu Lingxuan, he didn’t have anything to say about the woman. In his mind, he was mulling over the answers he gave.

Today, since Shao Junling had been tutored for a week, Yao Manhuai took Shao Junling to the Dee International school to have him take the entrance exam. Tomorrow, his results will be known. If Shao Junling fails to pass the test, his status as an investor of the school will undoubtedly be known. It was something Yin Chang was trying to avoid and spent an anxious night thinking about.

The next day, Yao Manhuai called Yin Chang to report on Shao Junling’s entrance examination results. With only a week of tutoring, he certainly failed, especially in pre-school English. Reading comprehension and literary knowledge scores were very low as well. He also failed the interview. Even so, one aspect of the test was a complete surprise.  Shao Junling had scored the highest possible on the most difficult part of the exam. The logic section.

___________________

The author has something to say: 【Vignette】

Shao Junling: He didn’t just not bring me any gifts. He cut my nails and suspected that I was mentally retarded!  Shao Junling was simply mad. Pufferfish impression. (｀ Δ ′)

Peanut Gallery: Don’t worry. Just wait patiently for a month…. A big wave of gifts is coming.

——————

【Flower arrangement】

When writing about Yao Manhuai’s plan to debut for Yin Chang, their seemed to see some controversy with regards to the text. Some readers said that Yin Chang couldn’t do it without experience.

I’ll explain. In fact, many 2nd generation stars don’t have prior experience before becoming successful. They can debut from the popularity of their parents and with a promotion of a “personal design”.

Take for example, Takuya Kimura ’s daughter. She was only fifteen years old when she started. As a newcomer, she neither acted in TV shows, nor the movies. In addition, she didn’t sing or produce albums. Regardless, she was selected to promote the Italian jewelry brand Bulgari. She enjoyed an exclusive ELLE cover when she debuted.  Another example are the children of several stars who participated in the show, Where Are We Going? They have frequently ben invited to participate in various fashion and variety shows simply because of name recognition. It’s fair to say that talent was just a bonus point to add….… (〒 ▽ 〒)

Some readers may have read inspirational texts about ‘working hard for dreams’ and believe the sentiment, “the harder you work, the happier you will be” (including me), but in fact, the entertainment industry really doesn’t operate in the same way. Its about luck and resources…. Yao Manhuai wanted Yin Chang to inherit his father’s resources for this reason. The public might not understand, but she was a business women and understood how the industry really operated.

As for how Yin Chang will grow and develop in the future, I won’t have many spoilers, just continue reading the text ~ XD