I Became Famous After I Became a Parrot in the Movie Star's House - Chapter 101

The Perfect First Step

Bai Gaoxing looks at the only person he is following on his account, studies it for a moment, and then steals a glance at the man beside him.

Their eyes meet!

Startled, Bai Gaoxing quickly turns away, clutching his phone with both hands and pretending to be busy.

After a while, he can’t help but sneak another sideways glance. This time, Li Pu isn’t looking at him but is instead staring straight ahead, seemingly lost in thought.

Li Pu’s phone lies next to him, its screen still black, unaffected by the follow notification.

It makes sense—otherwise, the constant pinging would be too disruptive, and Li Pu seems like the type to turn off message alerts.

Well then, lets him follow secretly. Bai Gaoxing happily checks Li Pu’s Weibo account a few more times. After savoring the lone follow for a minute, he searches for the second person to follow: Agent Lei Li.

He sends a private message: 【Sister Li, I’m Dabai ^_^】

“Dabai” isn’t just his name when he is a parrot; even when he is human, he is often called that, so Bai Gaoxing is very familiar with the name.

The reply comes almost instantly: 【Dabai?? Are you home?】

Bai Gaoxing: 【Yes!】

Sure enough, still a child. In the office, Lei Li looks at her phone, marveling at how lively and adorable Dabai still is even after turning human. The next second, she sighs, exasperated by Li Pu.

She types: 【I’ll send you and Li Pu a few resumes. You two discuss which ones are suitable or pick what you want and send them to me. These resumes will be your official profile, so choose carefully and remember them.】

Without a credible history, neither fans nor companies would take him seriously. Crafting the perfect narrative is essential—a specialty of the entertainment industry. Although she isn’t sure why Li Pu says the boy can handle this job, for safety’s sake, they have to consider all aspects carefully.

Soon, Lei Li follows him back and sends over several commonly used chat app accounts. Bai Gaoxing downloads them all, adding her as a friend.

Moments later, a notification pops up:

[You and Li Pu have been added to a group by Lei Li.]

Group Owner Lei Li: 【Sending a few resume templates, @Li Pu, @Dabai, take a look.】

In an instant, five files pop up.

Bai Gaoxing randomly opens one, and the dense small text immediately makes his head spin.

This isn’t something he can decide alone.

Bai Gaoxing turns toward Li Pu, who still seems to be in a daze. “Li Pu? Check the WeChat group.”

Li Pu picks up his phone.

When he sees Bai Gaoxing is already in the group, he looks at the boy in surprise before opening one of the files.

It is a draft biography for Dabai.

As for the boy’s history, Peter Wang has already handled everything. The basic idea is that he is a recent returnee who grew up abroad—this way, it is easier to cover up some details, and there is more room to adjust any gaps.

However, the finer details still have to be decided by them.

For example, this version claims “three years of translation experience…” which clearly won’t work.

Li Pu distinctly remembers that the boy has written his age as eighteen on his household registration.

He is still too young.

Li Pu’s gaze lowers slightly as he continues to scroll through the resume. Just as his finger is about to swipe down, a warm body leans in next to him, almost toppling over.

“How about this one?” Bai Gaoxing holds up his phone, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Li Pu glances at the file: Ten years of written translation experience…

Li Pu doesn’t continue reading. The word “ten” at the beginning is enough for him not to want to go any further.

He turns to the boy, supporting his soft face with one hand, his voice calm, “How old are you?”

“Eighteen,” Bai Gaoxing replies with a blink.

It seems he remembers correctly.

Li Pu doesn’t say anything, keeping his gaze fixed on the boy in front of him until the boy finally reacts. “Ah, haha… Was that too exaggerated?”

Bai Gaoxing rests his chin on Li Pu’s palm, a posture that feels surprisingly comfortable to him. He then raises his phone to continue looking. “Studying abroad? That should be okay, right?”

The ten years of translation experience part isn’t actually that exaggerated. His years abroad, combined with his time back home as a diligent student writing test papers… cough, cough, blurring the concept makes it about right.

Li Pu nods. “That works.”

Satisfied, Bai Gaoxing notes it down. When he straightens up, red marks from Li Pu’s hand remain on his cheeks like whiskers. Oblivious, he continues reviewing the files seriously.

Li Pu suppresses a smile, noticing how easily the boy’s skin marks. He rubs his fingers together, still warm from the boy’s touch, and goes back to reading.

After much deliberation, they choose the simplest, most plausible backstory: an ordinary student who has just returned from studying abroad. According to Wang Peter’s narrative, this student has lived in Country F for many years and was introduced to Li Pu through his cousin to work as a language instructor.

Peter Wang also believes that the “childhood friend” identity would be hard to keep hidden, so he is always prepared to offer his help.

Peter Wang has already gained some recognition overseas as a photographer. Upon returning to China, domestic fans begin to notice him, and he interacts with them frequently and enthusiastically on Weibo.

So far, no one has connected him to Li Pu—except for that one time when they photographed Dabai, the parrot, for a magazine.

After submitting the selected information to Lei Li, the group chat soon buzzes with an “OK” emoji from her, followed by a message saying she will polish the details further.

“Will this work? Is it too simple?”

Bai Gaoxing is brimming with excitement. Creating a new identity for himself feels like designing a game character. Since the details in the draft closely resemble his real life, he isn’t overly concerned about it being scrutinized. Still, some parts are written quite simply, leaving him uncertain about its believability.

“Don’t worry,” Li Pu says calmly. “She’ll refine it and fill in the gaps.” After all, she is a professional. 

Bai Gaoxing relaxes further when Li Pu adds, “If you think of anything else, you can add it later.” 

That reassures him even more.

Bai Gaoxing immediately turns around, curls up in the corner of the sofa with his phone, and continues happily browsing the internet.

“…” Is it really that fun?

Li Pu watches the boy, who is completely absorbed in his phone, his eyes reflecting the soft glow of the screen. A strange feeling creeps over him—he feels a bit neglected. 

He isn’t used to this. Normally, Dabai would be snuggling up to him, climbing onto him, or using his beak and claws to demand attention.

After a moment, Li Pu pulls out his own phone. 

He furrows his brows as he opens his rarely-checked Weibo account and begins refreshing the homepage aimlessly. 

Since he isn’t into social media, his account is mostly managed by his agent. It follows numerous peers and related topics, so every refresh fills his feed with a flood of new content.

As he scrolls, Li Pu’s focus sharpens. He decides to look for things that might interest the boy. That is when a familiar title catches his eye:

【Teacher Li × Dabai Fan Art Collection! More (you know what I mean…)】

Li Pu pauses. He has seen this before. 

When he first searched for Dabai’s online activity, this “Li Pu × Dabai” title had popped up several times. At the time, he had been too shocked by Dabai’s antics and too preoccupied with finding more evidence to pay it much attention. 

But now… perhaps this could offer some insight into Dabai’s interests?

Thinking it is likely fan art of their daily interactions, Li Pu clicks on the link decisively.

Meanwhile, completely unaware, Bai Gaoxing is living it up, blissfully immersed in his online adventures.

His familiar avatar and nickname are there, radiating a sense of friendliness. His movements are smooth and practiced as he quickly skims through the day’s news before following a slew of accounts—Food bloggers.

Having only ever eaten in the cafeteria or ordered takeout, this kind of indulgence is new to him! How can he pass up the chance to enjoy some proper food?

Scrolling through the tantalizing pictures of dishes, Bai Gaoxing nods in satisfaction.

This looks good… ah, this one’s even better… and this one, this one! How can I subtly hint to Li Pu that I want to try these…?

While he is lost in thought, a shadow suddenly looms over his head.

“What are you looking at?”

“Tonight’s dinner…” Bai Gaoxing turns instinctively to reply, only to hear a soft chuckle.

Li Pu looks down at him. From his vantage point, the boy is clutching his phone, its screen filled with food photos, and staring back at him in confusion.

Li Pu’s gaze flicks over the phone’s screen before his expression softens. He asks, “What do you want to eat?”

“Braised pork, is that okay?” Bai Gaoxing suggests eagerly. “I’ll help wash the vegetables!”

Li Pu quickly agrees, “Okay.”

Yet, even as they prepare dinner, one lingering thought keeps circling in Li Pu’s mind: Why do fans like that sort of thing…?

In the kitchen, while slicing the meat, Li Pu suddenly pauses.

Noticing this, Bai Gaoxing, who is washing vegetables, turns to ask, “What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing.” Li Pu resumes chopping and casually replies, “Pass me the cooking wine.”

Even after making dinner and the evening passes, the thought still lingers in Li Pu’s mind.

Until the sound of the lights turning off and the warmth of the boy’s body pressing against him in bed as they finally go to bed, Li Pu finally feels the shock those creations have given him.

They were just pictures and words full of fantasy… but Dabai… is really here beside me.

Li Pu can’t tell if it is the thick blanket or his restless thoughts, but the temperature feels stifling. He shifts slightly, pulling back the blanket to let in some cool air, only for the boy’s hand to unconsciously fall on him.

Half-asleep, the boy murmurs groggily, “Go to sleep… we’ve got a busy day tomorrow. Good night…”

Li Pu remains silent, waiting until he hears the boy’s breathing grow soft and steady before gently moving his arm back under the blanket.

“Good night,” he whispers.

…

The next day, Bai Gaoxing wakes up early to handle company procedures. While brushing his teeth, he notices Li Pu looking a bit sluggish.

“Didn’t sleep well?” he asks.

Li Pu shakes his head, washes his face, and by the time he looks up again, the weariness has disappeared from his expression.

They both don hats and masks before heading out to the company by car.

It has been a while since their last visit to Star Entertainment.

Standing in front of the company entrance, Bai Gaoxing adjusts his hat and tucks his rebellious white hair back in.

“Does this look okay?” he asks with a smile, his long lashes trembling like snowflakes.

Li Pu studies him for a moment before replying, “It’s fine.”

Trying to appear composed, Bai Gaoxing follows behind Li Pu, but his eyes dart around nervously. “We won’t run into anyone, right…? Would it be too obvious if people saw you bringing someone in?”

“We won’t,” Li Pu reassures him, stepping through the door first. “At this time of day, there usually aren’t many people around.”

Then, they bump into someone.

“Teacher Li?”

A small group of well-dressed men and women—clearly celebrities—spot Li Pu and freeze momentarily before greeting him warmly. Their attention then shifts to the boy standing beside him.

… It isn’t just because the boy has an outstanding appearance, but also because being brought in by the famous Senior Li makes him worth gossiping about.

However, Li Pu doesn’t seem inclined to offer an introduction. After a brief, polite exchange, he leads Bai Gaoxing straight to the elevator.

As soon as they are gone, the first-floor lobby erupts into excited murmurs.

“Whoa, who’s the one next to Teacher Li?”

“Could it be a new recruit? Hey, do you have any inside info?”

“Haven’t heard anything…”

“He seems like a handsome guy, hehe, if he’s a new recruit, I’ll ask for his contact information~”

“Those trainees are in trouble, huh? They’re going to face strong competition?”

While everyone is discussing, Bai Gaoxing has already followed Li Pu into the manager’s office.

The woman at the desk is flipping through some papers. When she notices them, she quickly gestures for them to sit and hands over the documents. “Take a look at this.”

Bai Gaoxing picks up one and starts skimming through it.

Li Pu takes another, asking before glancing at it, “Where’s Youshu?”

“He’s on annual leave for two days,” Lei Li replies with a satisfied look. “Said he needed some time to relax.”

Recalling how Mei Youshu had only just seemed to grasp that Dabai had transformed into a human, Lei Li can’t help but think to herself: The young man had appeared oddly composed in recent days, but it seemed his reaction had simply been delayed.

Li Pu seems to deduce the same thing. He stays silent for a moment, then turns his attention back to the documents.

“If everything looks good, you can sign here,” Lei Li says, pointing to the signature line.

The papers are in order, so Bai Gaoxing quickly signs them. Just like that, he officially becomes an employee of Star Entertainment.

“Now, about the image issue,” Lei Li continues, looking up.

She gestures for Bai Gaoxing to remove his hat and mask for a closer inspection. As soon as he does, Lei Li studies him carefully before turning to Li Pu. “It’s too eye-catching.”

The problem is evident to anyone with functioning eyesight, but there isn’t an immediate solution.

After all, the boy will still revert to his parrot form eventually, and if they dye his hair black…

“Wouldn’t I just become a black parrot? Or maybe a black-and-white gradient parrot?” Bai Gaoxing ventures with a playful guess.

“Too risky,” Li Pu says, pointing out the potential harm that hair dye chemicals might cause to birds.

“True.” Lei Li decides to abandon the idea. “You two figure something out. Anyway, no one’s seen Dabai in human form.”

Well, maybe not no one, maybe a lot of people had.

He means those who had seen the anthropomorphic pictures of Dabai.

Li Pu silently recalls the countless anthropomorphic drawings of Dabai circulating online. Although the illustrations differ slightly from reality, the distinctive white hair can easily remind people of Dabai.

“What if I wear glasses?”

The thought comes to Bai Gaoxing as he remembers the group they encountered at the company entrance. Spotting a pair of frame glasses on Lei Li’s desk, he picks them up and puts them on.

Behind the frame, the white eyelashes that had been so noticeable before are now hidden, and it gives him a more refined, student-like appearance.

Although it makes him look just a little younger…

Lei Li studies him carefully, then turns to Li Pu. “What do you think?”

Li Pu gazes at the boy for a moment before nodding slowly. “It’s fine.”