I Became Famous After I Became a Parrot in the Movie Star's House - Chapter 43

What’s going on? A gang fight?

Bai Gaoxing, who just places his paw on the ball and is about to kick it, looks at the college students surrounding him in surprise, the feathers on his head bristling.

But he still bravely spreads his wings and blocks Li Pu, “What are you doing! What are you doing!”

It is quite touching.

Bai Gaoxing feels deeply moved by his act of self-sacrifice to protect his master, lets out a fierce sound, and while flapping his wings, glances back at Li Pu, thinking that if things go really badly, he will just fly away and help him call the police.

“Oh no, you scared it,” the girl with the parrot on her shoulder takes a step back, waving her hands apologetically and signaling her companions to step back a few paces as well.

The others are taken aback by Bai Gaoxing’s reaction, exchanging glances before finally turning their attention to the girl who recognizes Li Pu’s pet.

“What’s the matter?” Li Pu asks gently, noticing their expressions.

It is almost certain now.

The short-haired girl takes a nervous breath; as soon as she hears the parrot speak, she knows it must be the one that appears in the Star Entertainment livestream.

Li Pu’s pet…

The short-haired girl doesn’t follow celebrities, but she knows who Li Pu is. Perhaps it is because she has seen many trending posts about this parrot recently that she recognizes Dabai and confirms the identity of its owner.

“Excuse me, are you… Teacher Li?”

To avoid being mistaken for a crazed fan, the short-haired girl quickly adds, “Sorry, I recognize Dabai! He is very famous now, and we both have parrots, so I made the connection!”

She even makes a gesture to cover her mouth. “We won’t tell anyone! So…”

Before coming here, they agree not to cause trouble for Li Pu—those who raise parrots are all kindred spirits, and Li Pu is one of them!

“So, can we take a picture with Dabai?”

A group of college students pulls out their phones, looking expectantly.

Having met other parrot enthusiasts for the first time, and purely for their love of Bai Da, Li Pu thinks for a moment and nods, “No problem.”

In the next moment, Bai Gaoxing is inundated with the cameras.

At that time, Bai Gaoxing doesn’t fully register what is happening; he is still puffing up his wings. Suddenly, the colorful shoes in front of him transform into large and small mobile phone lenses, with the eager young faces of college students behind the cameras. Some even forget to turn off their camera sounds, and the clicking is loud.

It takes Bai Gaoxing less than three seconds to transition from confusion to actively posing for the photos.

“He is so cute!” the short-haired girl exclaims as she holds up her phone, setting the image as her screen saver.

“Can we take a photo with our parrot together?” another girl asks. Their parrot is already so familiar with taking pictures, having done so hundreds of times, and now it is just a matter of seeing if Dabai is up for it.

“Well…” Li Pu ponders for a moment, looking at the parrots perched on the students. “As long as they don’t fight.”

Anyone who raises parrots knows that there are plenty of temperamental breeds and individuals among them. Even a male and female can end up injuring each other if they don’t get along. Li Pu read about this in the “Breeding Manual” long ago, so he is cautious about the proposal.

“No, my princess is very well-behaved!” says the boy with the gray parrot.

“My little white horse has a great temperament too,” adds the girl with the colorful honeyeater parrot, who is wearing a striped diaper and squinting at Bai Gaoxing.

“My Yuelun is just… uh, it is okay. It can be pretty fierce, but it won’t provoke anyone first.”

“My parrot is quite friendly and accepts new friends fairly well,” says the owner of an Eclectus Parrot.

After discussing, several people agree to give it a try, assuring that if it doesn’t work, they will take their birds back immediately.

However, Bai Gaoxing looks into the eyes of the parrots and feels he is in a delicate situation.

When they are placed together.

“What a special little boy,” the gray parrot tilts its head to look at him. “Do you want to lay eggs with your sister?”

“OMG,” the honeyeater interjects in a harsh tone, “What a creep.”

“What’s this? Did you not wake up from your nap?” Yuelun yawns and glances at Bai Gaoxing. “What are you staring at?”

“I don’t play with kids,” the eclectus parrot declares with an air of nobility.

Bai Gaoxing: “…”

He can’t help but roll his eyes.

So parrots can speak foreign languages? You just got back from abroad, right? And Yuelun, you actually have an accent? Does an accent even affect bird language? And your owner completely misjudges you; you’re obviously very xenophobic!

“They’re communicating!” Everyone exclaims in surprise as they observe the parrots chirping at each other.

Not at all.

Bai Gaoxing listens to the parrots chattering and feels his head is about to explode.

“Why would the owner like a guy like you?” The eclectus parrot scoffs.

“Go away.” The honeyeater doesn’t even look at him “She’s the one.”

“Me? I’m fine with it,” the gray parrot replies, seeming unbothered. “There are several others at home, but I’m the one he likes the most.”

“Jealousy is annoying,” Yuelun states simply.

Bai Gaoxing feels a bit suffocated, but he holds back and allows everyone to take pictures. When someone suggests, “They seem to like Dabai very much. Do you want to play with them for a while?” he flies toward Li Pu without hesitation and buries himself in his arms.

His bird life suffers a Waterloo. He feels much more comfortable around people!

(Translator’s Notes: The phrase “suffer a Waterloo” refers to experiencing a significant defeat or failure. It originates from the Battle of Waterloo, which takes place in 1815 and marks the end of Napoleon Bonaparte’s rule.)

Li Pu hugs the parrot close, a little surprised by its sudden affection, but he gently strokes its feathers. “Dabai is shy. Let’s stop here for today. I’ll take him to other places.”

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Bai Gaoxing climbs back onto Li Pu’s shoulder as he is taken away from the release area.

The park is beautiful. Bai Gaoxing looks around, allowing Li Pu to hold the rope with ease.

He doesn’t have a particular desire to be let loose; after all, he’s not familiar with the ability to fly, and flying too high makes him a bit scared…

The area where the elderly gather seems more lively. After passing a cluster of birdcages, Bai Gaoxing overhears many things he probably shouldn’t have, and then Li Pu is approached by some curious old men.

“Hey, young man, your bird is quite interesting.”

The friendly old gentlemen come over, and there is a lark perched on the stone table next to them.

Bai Gaoxing yawns out of boredom as he listens to Li Pu briefly introduce himself to them, but then someone calls out to him: “Hello? Can you talk? Hello?”

Bai Gaoxing is no longer sleepy; he responds with a loud and clear voice, “Hello!”

“Wow!”

This time, the group’s interest is piqued even more. One person pulls out an oversized mobile phone to record a video. “Say another sentence!”

Li Pu stands by, watching as the previously listless parrot becomes energetic, talking and dancing in front of the camera.

He begins to understand: it seems that Dabai prefers being around people.

Afterward, they stroll casually around the park. As the sun rises and the temperature increases, the man and the bird make their way home. During this time, Bai Gaoxing’s photos and talking videos circulate widely among their circle of friends, gaining popularity. Some people believe Dabai is truly special, while others question it, as many recent owners of white big parrots try to gain attention. Eventually, this leads to arguments and heated discussions online.

When Li Pu learns about this, he is at home feeding birds. He holds his mobile phone in one hand and a cereal bar snack—given to him as a gift when he buys a flying rope—in the other, while listening to his agent’s mutterings on the other end.

“Didn’t I tell you not to take Dabai out casually? It’s not like before. Dabai is already quite famous,” Lei Li says, browsing her social media on her computer, noticing several acquaintances share the posts.

“Is he really famous?” Li Pu asks.

Lei Li is taken aback by the question and wants to respond with, “Don’t you know?” But knowing how oblivious he can be, she continues, “Yes, even if others can’t recognize you, they will definitely recognize Dabai.”

The cereal bar seems to have a sweet potato flavor. Bai Gaoxing sniffs it carefully and stretches his neck to chew on it.

Li Pu ponders for a moment, reflecting on the company’s extensive publicity efforts. “I’ll pay more attention in the future.”

Lei Li nods, adding, “We definitely should. Many pet product companies are eager to have Dabai endorse their ads.”

“…What?” Li Pu instinctively raises the hand holding the snack, but Bai Gaoxing tilts his head back as far as it can go and can’t reach it, so he jumps onto Li Pu’s wrist, successfully pulling the man’s attention back, then lowers his head to continue munching.

“Of course, it depends on your opinion. The main thing is that Dabai enjoys it. We can definitely give it a try,” Lei Li says.

Li Pu pauses, looking at the parrot on his arm, who is solely focused on eating. After a moment of thought, he replies, “Let’s see.”

Lei Li recognizes that Li Pu’s attitude has softened. If he were opposed, he would outright refuse, so her tone becomes more relaxed. “Then I’ll wait for your news.”

After hanging up the phone, Li Pu raises the half-broken cereal bar, noticing the ground littered with fallen crumbs. His big parrot looks at him innocently and lets out a burp.

…

The days pass peacefully, one after another.

One morning, Li Pu returns home and has just closed the door when he hears the sound of flapping wings coming from the bedroom.

“Dabai,” he calls, and soon the sound of flapping wings grows clearer and louder. A snow-white figure suddenly bursts out of the room, flying toward him gracefully.

“Very good.” He strokes the soft feathers of the parrot and offers generous praise.

Bai Gaoxing holds his head high.

After many days of diet control and exercise, he has successfully transformed from a chubby, fluttering chicken into a nimble flying bird. Taking off into the air is effortless, and he has even developed the skill of hovering.

This is elegance.

Bai Gaoxing perches on Li Pu’s shoulder as they move from the living room to the kitchen, and then from the kitchen to the dining room. Now, he is an exceptionally outstanding pet parrot, the kind that would never embarrass you when taken out!

“Dabai, bring it back.”

After the meal, Li Pu throws a ball for some exercise.

Bai Gaoxing immediately whizzes past, snatching the ball before it hits the ground, then circles back and returns to Li Pu’s shoulder.

“Here you go~” He taps Li Pu’s shoulder with his beak.

The man rewards him with a melon seed.

Life is beautiful.

In the afternoon, Li Pu goes out as usual, while Bai Gaoxing settles down at the device to browse the comments.

During the time when he can only go downstairs to stretch his wings, he hasn’t been idle; he happily shoots over ten short videos.

For example, “I have a pig now, and I don’t want to talk to people who don’t have pigs”—this is filmed when he is still fat, but now it is no longer valid.

Another video titled “Please use a photo to prove that you have a bird” features him cleaning the house with a sweeping robot, claiming it is done by the parrot, though no one believes it.

For example, “Such a cute little parrot is meant to be kissed! muamuamua~~” — to avoid people thinking Li Pu is perverted, he makes sure to say it himself, but it seems to make Li Pu look even more perverted.

In addition, he saves many failed attempts in the draft box.

Bai Gaoxing browses through his works with satisfaction, scratching at them with his claws as he looks for new inspiration.

But good times are always fleeting.

Just when Bai Gaoxing thinks his bird life is on the right track and that he has perfectly adapted to the daily routine of happily living with his owner, a phone call shatters the peace.

“I see the time is almost up… Reminder…”

The long-lost voice of Mei Youshu comes from the other end of the line, prompting Bai Gaoxing to hurry over to listen.

“… OK, I understand.”

After a while, the man hangs up the phone and turns his gaze toward him.

Bad news!

Bai Gaoxing accepts Li Pu’s touch in a daze, watching his mouth open and close, and his thoughts stall for a long moment before forming a coherent message.

Li Pu’s vacation is about to end, and he will soon officially join the film crew.

Author’s Words:

Bai Da: Take me with you, take me with you, take me with you (echoing in the ears)

Li Pu: [covers ears]