IBFAIBPMSH Chapter 11

A night passed, and Bai Gaoxing didn’t sleep well.

The first ray of sunlight streams through the curtains, and Bai Gaoxing opens his eyes listlessly.

The man on the bed has already woken up five minutes earlier, fully dressed and now making the bed. His form-fitting clothes accentuate his broad, upright back and smoothly tapered waist. It’s quite a pleasing sight… or not!

I shouldn’t have slept in this room.

Sure enough, there’s no magical plot where a domineering CEO keeps a pampered pet, and all ailments vanish overnight. The real culprit for Bai Gaoxing’s bad night is the man who turned off the lights at nine but didn’t fall asleep until one, leaving Bai Gaoxing restless and unable to sleep for hours.

He watched Li Pu tossing and turning like a pancake... The sheets wrinkled under him, and the bed creaked pathetically.

Of course, the second part is just Bai Gaoxing’s imagination. After all, the furniture in the movie star’s house is high-quality, so no such noises actually occur.

Bai Gaoxing lets out a long yawn, watches Li Pu open the curtains, yawns again, and then slumps into his food box.

Li Pu quickly notices that his pet is low on energy. After seeing Dabai stick his head into the food box without moving, Li Pu starts to get nervous.

“Dabai? Dabai?”

Bai Gaoxing: ZZZ...

Bai Gaoxing, who had been planning to eat with his eyes closed, dozes off. In his sleepy haze, he feels as though someone has tied a string around his head and pulls it upwards. After a bit of struggling, he jerks awake: “What are you doing?”

He opens his eyes to find Li Pu gently pinching his feather crown and pulling it up.

The man looks visibly relieved and lets go of him.

Thanks to that, Bai Gaoxing is now fully awake.

Bai Gaoxing shakes his head—his feathers, now looking like a strange hairstyle, ruffle up—then resumes his previous mission: breakfast.

Li Pu watches him for a long time, as if wanting to say something, but eventually turns and leaves the room.

“It would be nice if he were more talkative,” Bai Gaoxing mumbles groggily.

Li Pu is always so quiet, like he can handle everything on his own. The only downside is that it makes communication difficult. After all, one-sided conversation is always awkward. Even if Bai Gaoxing tried to sound like a little girl and say, “Mom loves you so much,” it wouldn’t feel as uncomfortable as this silent tension.

But that thought is a bit scary. Bai shudders at the idea.

It’s now 6:05 in the morning.

As usual, Li Pu is preparing to go out.

Hearing the sound of the bathroom door opening, Bai Gaoxing quickly swallows his last mouthful of grain and, as quietly as possible, flies to the hook on the shoe rack by the living room door.

He’s waiting for his chance to sneak out.

Sure enough, the neatly dressed Li Pu doesn’t notice him perched on the rack. The man grabs his coat, puts it on while heading toward the door, and at the perfect moment, Bai Gaoxing seizes his chance. As Li Pu’s clothes rustle, Bai Gaoxing lands softly on his shoulder.

Bai Gaoxing feels a bit nervous—he once had a budgie that escaped by doing the same thing. However, the weight of a large parrot is much greater than that of a small budgie, so landing like this might get him caught.

Fortunately, Li Pu doesn’t seem to notice him. Bai Gaoxing deliberately chooses a blind spot and stays perfectly still. Li Pu’s expression doesn’t change as he opens the door and steps outside.

The moment the door swings open, Bai Gaoxing catches the scent of the fresh air.

Wuhu!

Bai Gaoxing wants to spread his wings and soar around the hallway right then and there. The time he’s spent cooped up in Li Pu’s house has broken his personal record for staying indoors, and he feels utterly stifled. Now, he can finally breathe some fresh air.

As long as Li Pu doesn’t notice... Bai Gaoxing thinks. At worst, he can just take a quick rickshaw ride around the block and return. It’s certainly better than staying locked up at home all the time.

Li Pu doesn’t find anything unusual. He takes the elevator downstairs skillfully and heads to the park in the community. Few people are up this early, so the path is empty. Li Pu has a habit of getting up for a morning run, and when he feels he has had enough, he either buys whatever he needs or heads straight home.

He arrives at his favorite spot—a large flower bed. Most of the residents in this area are well-off and don’t bother each other. Young people tend to go to the gym, while older folks prefer walking along the paths. In the distance, fitness equipment dots the landscape, and there are even basketball and badminton courts visible.

So when someone suddenly greets him, Li Pu is genuinely caught off guard.

“The little eagle you’ve raised is well-behaved. It doesn’t fly around.” A white-haired old man in training clothes smiles as he speaks.

...Eagle?

Seeing Li Pu’s confusion, the old man points with a nod of his head. “Look, the one on your shoulder.”

Li Pu slowly turns his head.

At that moment, Bai Gaoxing is basking in the warm early summer breeze. When he turns, he notices the old man looking at him, clearly intrigued by what he sees.

Then, Bai Gaoxing catches Li Pu’s astonished gaze.

Flap, flap, flap...

The white wings gleam in the morning light as they rise in Li Pu’s peripheral vision. His heart nearly stops in fear that the parrot perched on him might suddenly take flight.

When did it get there!?

In a flash, Li Pu thinks: Should he grab it with his hands? Or hope that Dabai won’t fly away so he can just take him home?

The moment that thought crosses his mind, Li Pu instinctively reaches out, but human reflexes can’t match a bird’s speed. He feels a lightness on his shoulder as the snow-white parrot launches itself into the air, quickly soaring out of his reach.

The morning sun filters through the leaves, its light a bit blinding, but Li Pu doesn’t dare blink, his eyes locked on the white bird’s flight path.

If it flies away...

Bai Gaoxing, soaring high, is so ecstatic that he momentarily forgets his own name. The last time he feels this thrilled is right after the college entrance exams. As a human, he never sees the view from the treetops, but now, as a bird, he can not only experience the fragrance of leaves and buds up close but also see the fountain square and the large shopping mall with LED advertising screens a hundred meters away.

The streets bustle with people, lively and vibrant—a stark contrast to the quieter days he spends cooped up recently.

I’m afraid I’ll never get to enjoy a bite of ice cream again...

He briefly considers finding an unsuspecting passerby to snatch a taste from. But as he glances at Li Pu’s anxious expression below and thinks about the very real dangers of starving, being eaten by raptors, or even wild cats…

Bai Gaoxing sighs, flaps his wings, and glides back onto Li Pu’s shoulder. “I didn’t run away; I’m back,” he reassures him.

The old man in the training clothes is still there. He looks at Bai Gaoxing in surprise, then turns to Li Pu. “Wow, it's well-trained! Can it catch rabbits?”

Li Pu, with a faint sheen of sweat on his forehead, shakes his head. "It’s not an eagle; it’s a parrot."

“I thought so! No wonder I heard it talking,” the old man chuckles.

Bai Gaoxing, feeling somewhat resigned, thinks the spot he landed on is uncomfortable and shifts a bit on Li Pu’s shoulder. Almost immediately, he notices Li Pu turn to him, looking at him with a face full of wariness.

Alright, alright, I’m not going anywhere. Look how scared you are.

To ease the tension, Bai Gaoxing digs his claws into Li Pu’s coat—regardless of how expensive it is, he needs to reassure his so-called owner.

A few sparrows fly lightly by, their chirps echoing like "Come chase us!" 

Bai Gaoxing listens as Li Pu and the old man chat for a while before they prepare to head back home.

“What a coincidence,” the old man says with a grin. “I’ve also got a talking bird—a starling. It sings beautifully every day! I was going to bring it downstairs today, but I forgot.” As they talk, the two reach the foot of the building. The old man points up. “That’s my place.”

Bai Gaoxing follows his gaze and sees a dark red wooden cage hanging outside a window, gently swaying as the shadow inside hops around. Then, he hears a voice from inside the cage—

"F*** you!""Eat my food again, and I’ll snap your neck!""F*** this and f*** that!!!"

A string of obscenities, each more shocking than the last. Who would have thought that this foul-mouthed bird actually lives just downstairs…?

He looks at the old man, who is still smiling cheerfully, while Li Pu’s expression remains neutral.

Ah, right. That’s the bird’s cry, Bai Gaoxing muses. 

The old man beams proudly. "Listen to that; isn’t it lovely?"

Bai Gaoxing remains silent. He thinks to himself that the old man likely has no idea what his starling is really shouting most of the time.

Suddenly, the bird's voice rings out again: "Congratulations on getting rich! Congratulations on getting rich! I'm here. Hello, hello."

The old man beams. "Listen to that! It speaks so well."

Bai Gaoxing listens closely and realizes the starling has switched back to mimicking human speech. T

his bird really has two sides.

As the two men enter the building together, the old man suddenly remarks, "Young man, you live here too?"

Li Pu gives a polite smile. "What a coincidence."

The old man responds, "That's great! I thought you looked familiar. You jog here often, right? Next time you come out for your morning exercise, I can help you walk your bird!"

Bai Gaoxing perks up in excitement. "Okay, okay!"

Li Pu: "..."

The old man doesn’t seem to notice who has actually agreed and simply makes the decision. "Your parrot is well-trained; it probably won’t fly off. Bring it along next time, and I’ll help you out."

Li Pu hesitates for a moment. "…Thank you."

"No trouble at all. Alright, this is my stop; I’ll be off now." The old man waves as he exits the elevator. Just as the doors close, he seems to have a delayed realization. "Wait, doesn’t that young man look familiar, like I’ve seen him on TV…?"

With a soft "ding," Bai Gaoxing notices the light for the seventh-floor button turn off, realizing that Li Pu lives on the seventh floor. Before he can think of anything else, he suddenly feels a pair of large hands tightly wrap around him, firm yet gentle enough not to hurt.

"Dabai," he hears the man call him in a low voice. Li Pu's voice is deep. "Fortunately, I caught you."

Is he mad?

Bai Gaoxing sneakily turns his head to glance at Li Pu, who still wears his usual calm expression, but his eyes are dark, filled with the deep relief of having recovered something precious.

I’m really sorry for scaring you. Bai Gaoxing wobbles his head, playing dumb. "I want to go out and play! I want to go out!"

"Of course you can."

The unexpected answer leaves Bai Gaoxing momentarily stunned.

He watches as Li Pu slowly breaks into a smile, his eyebrows and eyes showing a touch of indulgent affection, resembling an expression he once performed in a movie.

...Wait, doesn’t this look like the face of that psychopathic serial killer he once played?

Before Bai Gaoxing can process that thought, something cold clasps around his ankle.

Handcuffs...?

No, wait.

An anklet.

Bai Gaoxing looks down at one of his feet, feeling conflicted as the thin, sturdy chain sways gently, glinting with a beautiful silver shine.

It is an anti-flight device, no doubt... although it really feels a bit creepy.

This is really... a bit perverted, Bai Gaoxing thinks, feeling conflicted.

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