I Became Famous After I Became a Parrot in the Movie Star's House - Chapter 45

The sky outside grows darker and darker, and it seems like rain is on the way, casting an unusually dim light in the living room. 

Listening to the rustling leaves outside, Bai Gaoxing stares at the wall for a moment before slowly walking out onto the balcony.

Good! Completely free! 

He just has fun, flying around the living room, landing, and then ceremoniously spreading his wings, looking up as if he stands on a podium of victory, feeling the countless spotlights shining around him. 

After posing, Bai Gaoxing begins to think. 

What to do?

Play games!

A flash of inspiration strikes Bai Gaoxing, and he feels energized.

In the past, he only watched short videos and TV, trying to avoid being caught by Li Pu. But now it’s different. Li Pu is away from home, and no one has come to visit. Conservatively estimating, no one will disturb him for three days. Isn’t that a long and sufficient period of free internet time?

He acts immediately, humming a little tune as he swaggers into the study.

This time, he doesn’t use the equipment in the living room. It’s boring; the screen is small, and there are no speakers. It’s much better to use a desktop computer. Just typing on the keyboard is fun! 

Bai Gaoxing turns on the computer and downloads the PvP game he has always wanted to play but hesitated to download, fearing he would leave traces and wouldn’t have time for an immersive experience.

He explores the game and enters as a visitor, without needing a mobile phone or identity verification.

Go all out!

Bai Gaoxing is quite interested in games—during that period of anti-addiction measures, he can only play a little on weekends and holidays or borrow classmates’ phones. 

It’s a pity he is forced to change his body just as he starts to enjoy the freedom of being an adult. 

Now he’s stuck in a bird’s body, which makes gaming very difficult.

Ten minutes into the game, Bai Gaoxing gets KO’d because his bird claws can’t keep up with the action, and he begins to be carried by his teammates. 

Hey, hey, I say,” suddenly speaks teammate 1. “What’s wrong with No. 4, dying so quickly?” 

No. 4? Bai Gaoxing is momentarily stunned, glancing at his interface. Isn’t he talking about him?

But he hasn’t turned on the microphone. The one being carried should just watch the boss’s operation quietly; he is very self-aware.

He remains silent, but teammate 2 turns on the microphone, her voice lazy. “Okay, okay, it’s a free match anyway. Just play casually~ Be good~”

They might be a couple, Bai Gaoxing guessed. 

Bai Gaoxing makes a guess and then hears Teammate 1’s impatient voice again, “I said we shouldn’t match; it’s much better to team up. Tsk, so many noobs… Number 4, seriously, you’re just scattering seeds on the keyboard; even a chicken plays better than you.”

Looking for trouble, huh!?

Bai Gaoxing’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Do you even know who you’re playing against?!” 

The chicken definitely can’t play better than him! At least he lasts ten minutes! 

If you really knew that your teammate was a chicken (even a free-range chicken counts), you’d be scared enough to call your mom!

Bai Gaoxing grits his teeth, his claws moving restlessly on the mouse, feeling furious and wanting to argue. 

If he says one more thing, I’ll—

“No. 4 doesn’t talk? You’re not going to hang up, right? Or don’t you dare to talk? You’re not a child, are you? Give your phone back to your dad, or I’ll report you.” 

After a series of rude questions, Bai Gaoxing expressionlessly opens the microphone, calming his thoughts to the extreme in that moment. 

“Young man, I’m sorry. I just retired and learned to play this from my grandson, but I don’t really know how to play.”

He imitates the voice of the elderly man downstairs, sounding weak and coughing, “Oh dear, this old man is getting on in years, his brain isn’t working well, and he can’t do anything anymore. I’m useless.” 

On the other end: “……”

Teammate 1 panics; the microphone crackles momentarily as if he straightens up in his chair. “Uh… Grandpa, that’s not what I meant.”

Bai Gaoxing remains expressionless: “Then what do you mean?”

Teammate 1: “……” “Nothing, nothing.” He pauses, then adds, “This game is quite simple. Just do this and that, and hit anyone you see.”

After listening, Bai Gaoxing smiles. “Oh, young man, you are so nice, just like my grandson.” 

No. 1: “Uh, Grandpa… I’ll help you get first place.” 

Bai Gaoxing: “Okay, haha, kids nowadays are really polite.” He emphasizes the last two words. 

The game concludes in this strange atmosphere, and he actually secures first place. Before exiting, Bai Gaoxing hears No. 1’s voice crack under pressure: “I didn’t know he was an old man! I won’t be able to sleep tonight!”

Sigh, how many times has he said to be civil when surfing the Internet? 

After this incident, Bai Gaoxing loses interest in playing again and turns to browse Weibo. 

News about Li Pu joining the crew circulates widely online. He leaves that morning, and there are already reports of him arriving in Chuncheng. The comments section is full of anticipation.

【“I heard it’s about power struggles and palace intrigue? Sounds exciting!”】

【“Chuncheng—my hometown! It’s so beautiful!”】

【“It’s actually a costume drama! Oh my god, I can see Teacher Li in costume again. Hiss, hiss~”】

【“Which role did Teacher Li play?! I’m going to be his fan first!”】

【“Who is the heroine? They must choose a good-looking actress this time——”】

It seems that this is the script Li Pu reads every day.

The few pages of lines Bai Gaoxing remembers have more palace intrigue than power struggles. Out of curiosity, he goes to find the original novel he wants to read, but it turns out to be very long—over a million words. He closes the website after reading just ten chapters. 

Forget it.

Let’s just wait for Li Pu to finish filming and watch it on TV directly.

After a while, it is time for dinner. 

Bai Gaoxing flies down from the table and runs to the living room. The feeder is just ready, and he notices that he hasn’t eaten much in the morning. Now, two portions of feed are piled together, threatening to overflow.

He finishes the meal with a grunt but feels a bit uncomfortable without seeing Li Pu. Wiping his mouth hastily, he turns and flies to the sofa.

Time for a nap.

Bai Gaoxing slowly closes his eyes and gradually falls asleep.

After an unknown amount of time, he is awakened by the sound of rain hitting the leaves outside the window. They say the weather will be bad today, and it really is raining. 

Bai Gaoxing opens his eyes, still a bit dazed, with sleep lingering in his eyes.

He feels a little more tired than before. His dreams replay all the scenes from his time at Li Pu’s house, moving quickly but capturing every detail. However, beyond those snippets of daily life, he also dreams of his family for the first time in a long while. 

Though the faces in the dream are blurred, their outlines and warmth feel familiar. They seem to be talking, but he can’t hear anything. It is only through the memory of their long separation that he can recognize their identities.

It has been a long, long time since he has such a dream. 

Bai Gaoxing yawns groggily, then flaps his wings, stretches, and runs to the balcony to take in the scenery. 

The sudden downpour has turned the glass into a blurry smear. The sparrows, drenched by the rain, huddle under the leaves to stay dry, fluffing their feathers and scolding each other for the terrible weather. Suddenly, they fall silent, startled by a clap of thunder.

This is the benefit of keeping birds at home. Bai Gaoxing watches as two turtledoves come to drive away the sparrows, then turns back to the sofa.

It’s raining, so I won’t play with electronic devices for now.

Bai Gaoxing rolls around on the sofa for a while, genuinely unsure of what to do. He finally decides to hop onto the aquarium to watch the fish, as he usually did.

Meanwhile, Li Pu and his group, who just arrive at Chuncheng Airport, all pull out their mobile phones at the same time. Mei Youshu and Lin Shi are busy looking at the schedule, while Li Pu focuses on the weather.

“The crew chooses the location in the ancient capital building complex, and the hotel is booked right next to it. Director Sun really prioritizes the actors’ comfort and has chosen the best accommodations,” Mei Youshu explains in one breath, only to notice Li Pu frowning at his phone.

“What’s wrong, Brother Li?” he asks.

“…It’s raining in Jiangcheng,” Li Pu replies.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Lin Shi chimes in. “Today’s weather forecast says there will be moderate to heavy rain, but it should stop by night.”

Li Pu’s expression remains serious.

Mei Youshu, an assistant for many years, quickly picks up on his concern. “Are you worried about Dabai?”

After receiving a positive response, Mei Youshu smiles reassuringly. “It’s okay, I’ll be back in a few days.” He notices that Li Pu seems absent-minded and adds, “Dabai is really smart, and there’s no cage, so who knows what he’ll do at home!” After thinking for a moment, he continues, “Besides, birds go to sleep when it gets dark, so there’s no need to worry about him causing trouble at night.”

Li Pu feels somewhat reassured. Dabai is cheerful all day long, and aside from eating, sleeping, and playing, he doesn’t cause any trouble. Leaving him alone at home feels relatively safe. However, Li Pu still has some lingering worries. “Da Bai probably hasn’t experienced thunder and rain before.”

This summer’s rainfall is late, and there hasn’t been any thunder or lightning, which makes Li Pu worry about Da Bai being home alone and whether he will be scared of the thunder and lightning.

With no lights on, the house remains dark.

He wonders if Da Bai will adapt.

Mei Youshu pauses for a moment, then smiles. “Dabai is almost three years old; how could he not have seen thunder and rain before?”

But now it is in a new environment.

Li Pu doesn’t respond, slightly regretting that he forgot to leave a light on for Da Bai when he leaves home.

…

It is evening. 

Li Pu’s house is brightly lit. 

To be honest, it feels nice not to have to worry about power outages. 

Bai Gaoxing takes a small apple from the fruit plate and munches on it while watching TV. Compared to the mandatory power outages at the university or Li Pu’s schedule for elementary school students and the elderly, this arrangement suits him much better.

After finishing the apple and feeding the fish for a while, Bai Gaoxing feels full and ready to find something new to entertain himself.

He flies to the device screen in the living room as usual, but this time he doesn’t have to be cautious and turns on the sound directly.

Bai Gaoxing happily snacks while watching short videos, occasionally checking the new comments and private messages under his own works. 

With Li Pu not at home, he browses Weibo and checks the trending topics from previous dates.

Just as he suspects, the live broadcast causes quite a stir—four entries are trending simultaneously, and fans who are unaware of the truth have all sorts of wild guesses, mostly leaning towards believing it is an intentional stunt by the company.

Even more surprising is that after the live broadcast, Li Pu’s Weibo posts a photo of him, and his agent, Lei Li, responds in a cooperative manner. However, Bai Gaoxing quickly realizes that this is all orchestrated by Li Pu’s agent—he remembers that the photo is taken by Mei Youshu when he visits Li Pu’s house. 

Hmm… the strange smell of bad nuts is something he will never forget for the rest of his life.

Bai Gaoxing shakes off the unpleasant memory and continues to immerse himself in the internet. At night, it is prime time for every anchor to start working. He doesn’t dare operate Li Pu’s account to enter any live broadcast rooms, but he looks on from the sidelines, thinking about the live broadcasts he hasn’t done in a while.

After releasing so many works, the response from Li Pu’s fans shifts from initial excitement to enthusiastic support. 

In short, they are no longer as thrilled, gradually adapting to the reality that “Li Pu will release videos.” 

While this might not be good for his popularity, it is beneficial for him—he can hide better. People are less shocked by the trending topics, which likely reduces the chances of Li Pu discovering the truth… probably.

After all, the company thinks Li Pu is causing trouble, the fans believe the company is at fault, and Li Pu is unaware of any of it.

Bai Gaoxing continues to watch videos for a while and notices that other people’s live broadcasts are lively, which excites him. Maybe he can take advantage of Li Pu’s absence and broadcast freely at night? He has never done a live broadcast at night before.

Bai Gaoxing quickly changes the title of the live broadcast room in excitement but hesitates just before starting it. 

No.

No – thinks. Even if Li Pu isn’t there, it doesn’t mean others won’t notice Li Pu’s account. For instance, the agent, the assistant… and the thousands of fans watching. 

If they discover that Li Pu’s account is broadcasting live when he is not home, or if Li Pu is with them while his account is active… It would be as shocking as seeing a ghost, no different from self-explosion.

Come to think of it, whether it is live broadcasting or posting short videos, it always happens when Li Pu is on vacation, leading others to believe that it is genuinely Li Pu himself doing it. 

But now, that isn’t possible.

So… Bai Gaoxing coughs softly and closes the live broadcast interface slowly. He needs to find something else to pass the time. 

But what can he do? 

Bai Gaoxing is slightly distracted when he hears the crisp sound of rain hitting the railings outside the window. 

It is raining again.

He flies to the balcony and suddenly realizes that the night view of the community is quite beautiful. In the distance, tall buildings are brightly lit, and laughter echoes from an unknown household nearby. From this height, he can see the bustling streets below, winding into a glowing line that fades into the night.

The raindrops blur the glass bit by bit, dimming the outside lights, but they don’t extinguish the liveliness and warmth at all.

In the past, he has never noticed any of this because he is always with Li Pu. 

Looking at it this way, the empty house feels incredibly lonely.

Bai Gaoxing focuses on a raindrop as it slides down the glass, falling off the edge just before reaching the bottom, and he feels an inexplicable emptiness in his heart. 

He extends his four-toed claws, recalling what Li Pu and the others say before they leave, counting them carefully to comfort himself.

It doesn’t matter. 

A day has passed.