I Became Famous After I Became a Parrot in the Movie Star's House - Chapter 59

The next day, the director really keeps his promise and comes to explain the scene to him.

To be precise, it’s all of them.

Bai Gaoxing squats on the shelf, surrounded by the heroine Pei Jue, the queen Huang Shaqing, the minister Li Pu, and several other supporting roles that will appear at that time.

“Earlier, due to insufficient conditions, we removed the emotional entanglement between the queen and Ning Chen. But now, with Dabai, the emotional line between the two characters is more convincing, so we’re adding that part back in.”

Ning Chen is the role played by Li Pu.

After several twists and turns, Bai Gaoxing finally figures out what role he plays—he is the treacherous minister! A meticulous and scheming character.

Just like his name, in the original work, he is like a bottomless lake, with his power pressing on the court like a mountain, making people breathless. On the heroine’s road to growth, Ning Chen is the most difficult obstacle to overcome, and she almost loses her life at his hands.

Director Sun stands between the group, talking about the setting ideas of the original work.

“When the queen was young, she loved Ning Chen, but after becoming the queen, she has to hide her feelings. Until she meets the heroine—”

Director Sun casts his eyes on Pei Jue.

Pei Jue understands and continues: “Ning Chen wants to get rid of the heroine, so he uses the queen. The queen and the heroine have a brief conflict. In the end, the queen’s conspiracy is exposed by the parrot, and she hangs herself.”

Director Sun nods, “In fact, the queen already knows she is being used, but she still willingly accepts it. Even as she dies, she doesn’t get rid of the parrot Ning Chen gives her—despite the fact that the parrot’s mimicry exposes her words, she has no thoughts of revenge.”

Huang Shaqing clicks her tongue. “What a foolish woman.”

Director Sun smiles, speaking the truth, “If played well, it’s a portrayal of deep affection and tragedy that will make people feel sorry for her; if played poorly, she’ll be criticized.”

Huang Shaqing picks up the page with the added drama, bitterly laughing. Now the pressure is on her side.

“Now, what we want to add for Dabai and Ning Chen is that Ning Chen raised the parrot, and the palace maid beside the queen was also one of his trusted spies. His plans are deep and far-reaching, but when they fail, he will never allow the queen to utter another word.” He pauses for a moment. “This part is from Ning Chen’s perspective. We’ll only understand it when we film it. The focus, though, is still on the heroine.” He smiles and asks, “What do you think?”

Li Pu thinks for a moment. “I have no objections.”

With this additional conflict, the motivations of the characters become clearer. In the original plot, the queen’s hostility toward the female lead is somewhat unclear. Even though it creates tension between them, it isn’t convincing enough.

Bai Gaoxing glances at Li Pu, realizing that now, both in the story and outside of it, his parrot is the focal point.

Hmm~ It has a very important role!

The others naturally have no objections and begin reviewing the new script.

Bai Gaoxing, standing in a higher position, looks around, glancing at the script in the nearest person’s hands.

[Ning Chen teases the parrot (absent-mindedly)]

[Ning Chen strokes the parrot, showing a rare gentle smile, though his mood is dark.]

[Ning Chen walks down the corridor with the parrot and hands it to the servant, asking him to handle it with care.]

This feels… a bit strange?

Looking at the extremely concise and rough description on the page, Bai Gaoxing deeply suspects that Director Sun might have a side job.

“I must’ve misheard Director Sun’s words last night,” Bai Gaoxing mutters. “I thought he was going to add a love scene between Teacher Li and Dabai. Goose… goose… goose…” Huang Shaqing’s voice rises from below. Bai Gaoxing is startled, then hears her talking to Pei Jue about the misunderstanding from the night before. Both of them burst into laughter.

“Don’t laugh,” Director Sun shoots a glance at Pei Jue. “You have dark scenes with Dabai.”

Bai Gaoxing freezes. He actually has scenes with the female lead?

The smile vanishes from Pei Jue’s face immediately. “What scene?”

Dark scenes? That’s bad news!

Director Sun explains kindly, “The heroine is aloof, cold, and decisive in her methods. While others are emotionally dragged down, she isn’t affected. After the queen dies, you get the parrot. You realize it’s too smart and dangerous, so you decide not to leave any trouble. So—”

Pei Jue is shocked. “No way!!”

Wouldn’t she get scolded to death!?

Pei Jue stares blankly at the people around her. They also know how much Dabai has been talked about. Even though it’s been out of the public eye for days, there are still many people online eager to see Dabai again. It’s enough to imagine how many people love Dabai!

Let her—what? Send someone to deal with Dabai…? Is she really the female lead!?

Bai Gaoxing is also shocked. He doesn’t expect the director to be so cruel! But he likes it. Hehe, this is exciting!

However, after filming this scene, Bai Gaoxing doesn’t get the training on how to pretend to be dead. It’s said that the director and the screenwriter have a dispute over how to write this part, and the negotiations fall through, so it’s temporarily postponed.

The days spent filming and watching the drama unfold are pleasant and fulfilling. After a few days, Bai Gaoxing finally gets his “emotional” scene with Li Pu.

It’s another day with bad weather.

It’s drizzling outside, the sky is overcast, and the cool breeze blows through the air. Li Pu, dressed in court attire, stands under the eaves, his long sleeves and hems swaying gracefully.

This isn’t Bai Gaoxing’s first time acting with someone, but it’s the first time he feels so nervous.

A circle of cameras is aimed at him, and the atmosphere is unexpectedly tense.

The man walks slowly toward him. His eyes aren’t as gentle and calm as usual; they’re cold and indifferent.

Then, he smiles.

This smile isn’t as soft as melting ice and snow. Instead, it’s unexpectedly aggressive, making it all the more captivating.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Is it hail? Bai Gaoxing looks up at the sky. Wait, no—that’s my heart beating.

This scene is about a treacherous official playing with a bird while listening to a report from the people below. The actor’s lines are sonorous and powerful, but Bai Gaoxing can’t focus on them.

The parrot seems to be in a trance, dazed, its movements entirely driven by muscle memory. The fingers are still warm, but the back of his hand feels a little cold. After all, it’s raining and windy…

“Cut!”

Director Sun calls for a stop.

A gust of cold wind blows, and Bai Gaoxing shudders. What’s going on!?

He looks around blankly, finally realizing the answer:

Did he NG?

The staff around him look equally surprised. Although Dabai doesn’t have many scenes, every shot so far has gone smoothly. Being NG… this is the first time.

Bai Gaoxing feels a little flustered. He replays the previous action in his mind but still can’t figure out what went wrong. He shrinks his head, bracing for the director’s reprimand.

However, Director Sun just strides over, glances at Li Pu, then at him, and says, “Seems like being too familiar is not a good thing.”

Huh? What does that mean?

Bai Gaoxing tilts his head in confusion, but Li Pu already understands.

“Well… Dabai is closer to me,” Li Pu explains.

As he speaks, Li Pu’s hand reaches out again, and Bai Gaoxing instinctively leans in, still looking at the director in confusion. What’s going on?

“Look! That’s it,” Director Sun says, pointing to the parrot’s actions.

Li Pu retracts his hand, and Bai Gaoxing moves forward two steps, following the gesture.

Then, the fluffy face is once again pressed against the fingertips.

Director Sun: “…”

Bai Gaoxing: “?”

Bai Gaoxing: “!!!”

Bai Gaoxing finally realizes what he has done, turns his head, and stares at the finger in front of him, then lowers his head and takes a bite.

Bad habits formed at home!

It’s all Li Pu’s fault!

Seeing the parrot’s resentful look, Li Pu rubs his fingertips and strokes the fluff on its head.

“Actually, you shouldn’t act so intimate…” Director Sun mumbles, then turns to Li Pu. “Can you get Dabai to hold back a little?”

“I’ll try,” Li Pu says with a smile in his voice, and the furrow in his brows relaxes a little.

Ugh, what’s there to be happy about? Bai Gaoxing scratches his head, silently cursing his bad habit.

Watching Li Pu walk back to his original spot, Bai Gaoxing takes a deep breath and focuses his gaze. This time, he definitely won’t mess up!

Slowly, the hand comes over again—he holds steady—

“Cut!” Again.

“…” It’s a reflex, he can’t help it.

Director Sun wants to laugh when he sees this. “How often do you touch Dabai at home?”

Li Pu thinks about it and realizes that he doesn’t do it very often, just when he’s reading the script.

He glances at the still lush feathers on the parrot’s head and wonders if he should reduce rubbing it a little. I heard… it would make him bald?

“Let’s do it one last time. I won’t force it,” Director Sun says, patting the script that is rolled up into a paper tube. This time, he really feels like he is filming a scene with a clueless parrot, not a parrot spirit.

The filming resumes.

Bai Gaoxing is cracking melon seeds—pretending to eat—when his peripheral vision catches sight of Li Pu approaching.

This time, he can’t help but raise his head. With a great deal of willpower, he resists sticking to Li Pu.

Finally, he gets through it.

After the scene, Director Sun nods in satisfaction and says “Good,” before immediately requesting that the previous two scenes be edited into the behind-the-scenes footage.

The staff on set are amazed.

“No matter how many times I’ve seen it… I’m still shocked.”

“So well-behaved, he’s the best under Teacher Li’s guidance!”

“The photo’s in the group, save it now!”

Bai Gaoxing watches the other actors gather around Li Pu. They are preparing to shoot the next scene, but his part is done, and he is utterly bored.

Thankfully, Lin Shi takes him out for a walk.

In the corridor, Bai Gaoxing looks up at the sky, deep in thought.

After calculating, he realizes his part isn’t actually that big. Once he finishes the scenes the director hasn’t decided on, he’ll be done filming.

He just isn’t sure if he will leave after the filming finishes…

He has to find a way to stay!

Bai Gaoxing quietly works on brainstorming ideas to prolong his time on set, but before he can come up with any reasonable plans, he sees a message from Peter Wang.

[Tomorrow at nine o’clock, no rush, let Dabai sleep well before coming!]

It would have been better if he hadn’t received the message. As soon as he does, Bai Gaoxing feels so excited that he can’t sleep all night.

Then, he sees Li Pu call the director.

“Hmm? Go!” Director Sun is still watching the finished footage on the monitor and pauses for a moment after answering the phone.

He agrees very readily.

Celebrities’ schedules are often packed, and filming time usually depends on their availability. It’s rare for someone like Li Pu to leave during a shoot, especially when his scenes are almost finished.

Thinking of this, Director Sun casually laughs. “Rare! What’s this for? Endorsement? Interview? Variety show?”

Li Pu thinks for a moment, gently running his fingers through Bai Gaoxing’s feathers. “It’s for a magazine shoot.”

“Oh?” Director Sun is genuinely surprised. After thinking for a bit, he can’t recall any big magazines in the industry lately. “You’re going to be a model?”

Li Pu pauses for a moment, then says, “Not me, it’s Dabai.”

Author’s note:

Habits are terrible (TAT)

Li Pu: (Reaches out)

Dabai: I’ll stick!