Abstract: Pragmatic studies of relational practice are undergoing an indigenization shift, while existing research perspectives remain to be broadened and innovated. Drawing on a socio-cognitive pragmatic approach, this study examines the interpersonal connotations of the indigenous meta-concepts Fang (square) and Yuan (circle), and further explores the operational model of relational practice embodied in Chinese cultural contexts. Using terms derived from Fang and Yuan (e.g., yuantong, fangzheng) as search keywords, this study retrieves data from the Center for Chinese Linguistics Corpus (CCL) of Beijing University and manually identifies instances where these concepts function as interpersonal metapragmatic evaluations, along with the relational elements and macro-relational categories embedded therein. Findings show that relational practice in Chinese is inherently Fang-Yuan interactions. It encompasses both the socio-cultural and cognitive-psychological dimensions of communication, as well as key relational elements including politeness, face, favor, affection, personality, goal and principle. This model effectively accounts for relational practice in neutral, negation-oriented and confrontational communicative contexts. Its effective operation is underpinned by interactants’ cognitive coordination of shared reality. Accordingly, this paper proposes a Fang-Yuan interactional model of relational practice grounded in indigenous concepts, aiming to advance the indigenization of interpersonal pragmatics and the theoretical development of socio-cognitive approaches in the field.