I Became Famous After I Became a Parrot in the Movie Star's House - Chapter 62

Looking at the familiar packaging bag, Bai Gaoxing is stunned, and then his pupils tremble.

Did I actually stuff the bag there!?

It’s simply… ironclad evidence.

Bai Gaoxing looks up at the sky and the ground with a guilty conscience, but he doesn’t look at Li Pu. Instead, he whistles to try to divert his attention.

“Hmmm?” Li Pu snorts again.

Faced with the man’s question, Bai Gaoxing immediately lowers his head:

It’s this little parrot’s fault!

Admit the mistake in time, act cute in time, and… pretend to sleep in time.

Bai Gaoxing skillfully shrinks into the quilt, tilts his head, and makes snoring noises.

He does it for a few seconds, then quietly opens one eye to observe the man’s expression.

Ugh, he’s still looking at me!

Bai Gaoxing immediately closes his eyes again.

He hears a laugh, and then feels a shadow pass in front of him. He immediately tenses up nervously, but is greeted by Li Pu’s warm palm, and a thin sheet is covered over his body.

With a click, the light turns off again.

As the sounds beside him quiet down, Bai Gaoxing slowly opens his eyes and turns his head to look out the window. His eyes, not yet fully adjusted to the darkness, can only see complete blackness. After waiting a while, he can finally make out the blurry neon lights reflected on the glass.

It’s the same scene, but everything is different.

Bai Gaoxing takes a long breath, and a strange sense of satisfaction rises in his heart. He rolls on the bed twice, and finally faces Li Pu and closes his eyes.

…

The man and the bird don’t stay at home for too long. At noon the next day, they set out on the road back to the set.

After arriving at their destination, on the way to the birdhouse, they happen to run into a group of people who are filming nearby.

“This is not the right feeling, understand? It’s sarcasm! Why are you laughing?”

“You’re supposed to hit her! Hit her! Not give her a massage! That’s not how dislocation works, is it?”

“Where’s your expression? Where’s your movements? Didn’t you say you’d remember them all yesterday?”

Even through the bird bag, Bai Gaoxing can hear Director Sun’s deafening roar.

They arrive right in time for a tantrum—this movie is really on fire.

Bai Gaoxing shifts around in the bag, trying to sneak a peek at the commotion. He has heard people privately refer to Director Sun as “Big Cannon” more than once. At first, he thought it was an exaggeration, but now…

Among the surging heads in the venue, several young actresses who haven’t been seen before are playing concubines. From a distance, they all bow their heads, being scolded by Director Sun.

Li Pu stops to watch for a moment, then continues walking toward the bird room with Bai Gaoxing. However, at the moment they pass by, Director Sun notices them.

“You’re back,” Director Sun greets them, then casts his eyes on the bird bag in Li Pu’s hand. The next second, he turns his head and says with a frown, “Even parrots act better than you!”

Bai Gaoxing feels like he’s been shot even when he’s lying down.

…

Life after returning to the crew is as peaceful and happy as before. As the weather grows hotter, Bai Gaoxing becomes too lazy to go out and stays in his own air-conditioned room, eating and drinking at his leisure.

So far, the parrot has only one last scene left.

In contrast, Li Pu, as the final villain of the play, has a lot of scenes and is gradually becoming more prominent in the schedule, so they don’t see each other much during the day. However, at night, Bai Gaoxing follows him to a five-star hotel and sleeps in a comfortable big bedroom.

Watching TV, eating melon seeds, and occasionally being taught the trick of pretending to be dead by the trainer—after returning, the director and screenwriter finally reach a consensus and give Bai Gaoxing a new flying page.

Days pass by, and finally, on a gloomy day with a rainstorm approaching, Bai Gaoxing faces his final scene.

 Since this morning, the sky has been a dark yellow, and the strong wind sweeps through the branches and leaves, making a noisy sound.

Due to the bad weather, many outdoor shoots are canceled, and Li Pu is rarely seen in the birdhouse.

Just as Bai Gaoxing is chewing on the melon seeds Li Pu brought from home, the trainer, Xiao Yi, pushes the door open and calls out: “Where is Teacher Bai? We’re shooting the last scene today!”

“Puff!”

The melon seeds in Bai Gaoxing’s mouth spray out directly. What the heck is ‘Teacher Bai’!?

Li Pu is also stunned and raises his eyebrows in confusion. “Teacher Bai?”

Xiao Yi coughs. “Well, everyone calls it that in private.” Then he repeats the incident in which the director once angrily scolded the actors and said, “Why don’t you let Dabai be your teacher and teach you? From then on, this name uncontrollably spread.”

Bai Gaoxing’s eyelids twitch when he hears it. This makes him feel very stressed.

Xiao Yi smiles again. “After today’s shooting, Dabai will be finished, and we can go back.”

As an animal trainer, once the scenes are over, their job is done as well.

He casually asks, “What about Brother Li? After Dabai finishes the scenes, is he going back alone or what?”

Bai Gaoxing immediately perks up, his feathers bristling.

Li Pu looks at the snow-white ball and says, “Dabai will stay with me.”

Bai Gaoxing is completely relieved.

“That’s good.” Xiao Yi nods in agreement. “I see that Dabai has such a good relationship with you. If he is left to go back alone, he will be very lonely.” He adds, “Even though our Big Head has a personality that doesn’t like to talk to people, he will get anxious if he doesn’t see me for a day.”

A smile appears in Li Pu’s eyes.

Even the bystanders can see how clingy Dabai is.

Soon, taking advantage of the strong wind, Bai Gaoxing is taken to a dark room lit only by candlelight, which feels even cooler.

“Teacher Bai is here, Teacher Bai is here—” someone sighs softly, triggering another group of people to echo.

Bai Gaoxing glances around and sees them.

He can’t tell if it’s just his imagination, but it feels like there are a lot of people watching today. The door to the already dimly lit room is surrounded by a mass of people.

Director Sun snorts, his words sharp, “You know to call someone ‘teacher,’ but you don’t even learn properly.”

He clearly approves of the nickname.

“Today is Teacher Bai’s final scene.” Director Sun continues, referring to the play while also calling Bai Gaoxing ‘Teacher Bai,’ which prompts a burst of laughter from the crowd. “This is the last hurdle for the heroine, Yuan Changge, to overcome her soft heart. From now on, she’ll learn that ‘only the dead can’t talk,’ and everything around her is a potential source of danger. This is the psychological turning point that sets up her eventual overthrow of Ning Chen later.”

He pauses before continuing, “In fact, I argue with the screenwriter for a long time about whether I should let this parrot go.”

Everyone listens intently, and a few staff members who are particularly fond of Bai Gaoxing seem to be brimming with hope for the parrot’s fate.

“The screenwriter is a softie. She suggests that the heroine either let the parrot go, make it mute, and send it far away, or simply poison it to silence it.”

“But, from both a character development perspective and the idea of whether a parrot being mute would be even more pitiful, I just couldn’t accept it.”

“So, after a long battle, I win in the end.” Director Sun smiles devilishly and gently pats the table where Bai Gaoxing is perched. “Dabai can retire with glory today.”

The crowd of onlookers sighs collectively.

“Alright, enough talk. Let’s get ready.” Director Sun returns to his seat in front of the monitor. “Actors who want to learn, watch closely.”

Action.

A cold wind blows into the room.

The closed door is suddenly pushed open from the outside, and someone enters, holding a candlestick.

Then, the heroine, Yuan Changge, dressed in gorgeous palace attire, steps in.

At this moment, Yuan Changge is no longer the straightforward Yuan Meiren. She’s learned to mask her emotions, and her face is filled with calm.

She glances inside and softly asks, “Is this the queen’s parrot?”

The palace maid who brought her here answers affirmatively.

Yuan Changge walks up to the table, a trace of pity in her eyes, and gently strokes the snow-white parrot’s head. “It’s well-behaved and cute…”

Bai Gaoxing feels the heroine’s cool fingertips, tilts his head to look at her, and acts the part of an innocent, cute pet.

Pei Jue, who plays Yuan Changge, feels his conscience pricked.

Yuan Changge lowers her eyes and, after a brief pause, says, “It’s a shame you followed the wrong master and learned things you shouldn’t have.”

The woman raises her fingers to gently hook the parrot’s chin, then lowers her hand and turns away. “Let it go peacefully.”

The palace attendant responds.

At this moment, every camera is trained on Bai Gaoxing.

A heavy storm rages outside, rain pouring down with a loud, crackling sound, adding to the dark and eerie atmosphere.

Bai Gaoxing figures that, as the female lead, it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to take action, so she sends one of her trusted subordinates instead.

Now, the subordinate hands him a few plump, beautiful sunflower seeds.

This is something I can eat! Bai Gaoxing had had it before—it’s fragrant and satisfying. Without hesitation, he begins munching on the sunflower seeds.

He becomes so engrossed in munching on the seeds that he doesn’t notice the instructor’s “ahem, ahem” sound.

Oh, right, I’m supposed to be dying.

Bai Gaoxing opens his mouth, and the sunflower seed shells fall out.

He stares at the sunflower seeds in disbelief, takes two steps back, spins around, jumps, and flutters. Finally, he collapses onto the table, panting as if struggling to breathe.

Then, he slowly closes his eyes and stiffens his legs.

Director Sun is so shocked that he immediately asks the trainer beside him, “Are you sure you didn’t poison it by accident?” He only calms down after receiving a positive answer.

The palace maid actor, also stunned by Bai Gaoxing’s performance, stands with her mouth agape behind the camera for a second before stepping forward to “collect the body.”

On the table, only scattered feathers remain, signifying that a massacre has just occurred.

“That’s enough!” Director Sun calls for a stop.

The scene is complete.

Bai Gaoxing lifts his head from inside the palace maid’s cloth bag and sees Li Pu’s handsome face.

“Gah!” Did I do well?

Li Pu praises him, “Dabai, you did a great job.”

Bai Gaoxing thinks so too. He feels like he has given his all in that scene, perfectly portraying the agony of dying from poisoning.

But something unexpected happens. Director Sun, who has been sitting in front of the monitor for a while, calls Li Pu over. “Teacher Li, come here.”

The director, somewhat conflicted, expresses his thoughts: “I’m thinking… why not have Dabai act a few more times?”

Of course, there’s no issue with that.

Bai Gaoxing performs a few more takes in collaboration with the heroine and the palace maid. Afterward, the screenwriter comes over to discuss with the director.

It turns out that Bai Gaoxing’s “death” has failed to achieve the tragic effect the director wanted.

Because he is just too cute, it doesn’t seem tragic at all.

After staring at him for a long time, Director Sun sighs heavily, cigarette in mouth, and reluctantly agrees to the screenwriter’s suggestion: “Forget it, we’ll express the emotions through the scenery instead.”

“Okay, okay!” Pei Jue, no longer detached in character, claps his hands enthusiastically, his usual aloofness gone.

The heroine, grateful, also joins in.

Bai Gaoxing, having just found the perfect position to lie in, is left confused: ??

On the table, a ball of white fluff lies. Li Pu approaches, gently pats it a few times, and then takes out snacks to comfort it. Meanwhile, the director and cameraman huddle around another table, discussing how to arrange the prop feathers to look more messy and tragic.

Finally, the scene is shot, and the director announces that filming is officially complete.

“Congratulations to Dabai for finishing filming,” Director Sun smiles at Bai Gaoxing.

With that, the staff erupts into applause.

Huh? It’s over already?

Bai Gaoxing is still in a daze.

“Here, Dabai’s red envelope.” Director Sun hands him a red envelope.

Bai Gaoxing takes it in his beak, and tears well up in his eyes.

Oh my, this is the first time since becoming a bird that he has received money on his own!

Director Sun turns to Li Pu and asks, “So, Dabai’s part is officially done. Should we send Dabai back, or will he stay with the crew…?”

“I plan to have Dabai stay with me,” Li Pu smiles. “Can I still borrow the bird room here for me and Dabai?”

“Of course, no problem,” Director Sun agrees enthusiastically. “Maybe we’ll even need to fill in some gaps later with some good shots. Besides, there’s still a bunch of behind-the-scenes footage!” He adds, “We can even let Dabai attend the wrap party!”

I can go to the wrap-up party! Bai Gaoxing stamps his feet excitedly, drooling.

Once the rain stops and the sky clears, it’s time for the crew to finish for the day.

Back at the hotel, Bai Gaoxing eagerly competes with Li Pu for the red envelope.

“Dabai?” Li Pu wonders aloud, puzzled by the parrot’s obsession with the red envelope, which he keeps holding onto all the way back.

Looking at the parrot’s pitiful expression, as though on the verge of tears, Li Pu’s heart softens. He patiently coaxes, “I’ll give it back to you later. You can’t just not eat or drink all night.”

Bai Gaoxing: QAQ

Then you have to keep your promise.