IBFAIBPMSH Chapter 23 Part 2

It is a quiet workday, and Firefly Live users aimlessly scroll through short videos and live streams. Unlike the popular Xinghuo Live, Firefly Live—a branch platform of Xinghuo—barely manages to scrape by in terms of traffic among the competitive live-streaming platforms. Its modest traffic comes only from Xinghuo’s overwhelming popularity, as a small number of users find the big platforms dull and migrate over.

Most users are familiar with big companies’ futile attempts to grab market share and don’t bother giving Firefly Live much attention. They download it at most to take advantage of the platform’s new user benefits.

At this time, in a female dormitory at Jiangcheng University, two girls get ready to cash in on those benefits and leave.

“Wu Qingqing, where do you find this app?” asks the girl with messy hair, sitting cross-legged on the bed as she chats while downloading.

“It’s an ad from Xinghuo. I download it because I see there’s a red envelope,” the girl at the desk replies softly, tying her hair into a low ponytail. “It’s fifty bucks!”

“Is it true?” The girl on the bed sits up suddenly and leans over the railing to take a look. “Is it a scam?”

“Of course it’s true.” The girl with the low ponytail shows her the payment record. “I guess it’s to attract traffic, but not many people watch it.”

“Oh~” The girl on the bed drags out the sound and glances at the download progress bar. “These apps are really fun now.” She clicks in and continues, “By the way, have you heard that Li Pu is going to star in a new drama?”

“Really? With such a handsome face, he should be locked in front of the camera for 24 hours!” The girl on the bed exclaims. “Didn’t Xinghuo sign a contract with him? Why haven’t we seen him live streaming like other stars?”

“Really? With such a handsome face, he should be locked in front of the camera for 24 hours!” The girl on the bed exclaims. “Didn’t Xinghuo sign a contract with him? Why haven’t we seen him live streaming like other stars?”

“Who knows... Anyway, he never live streams.” Wu Qingqing looks up at the ceiling. “If one day I see his account active on a live streaming platform, it must be the sun rising from the west.”

The girl on the bed shakes her legs excitedly. “Oh, by the way, since Yinghuo is connected to Xinghuo, does Li Pu have an account there too?”

Wu Qingqing thinks for a moment. “He should. But he doesn’t live stream on Xinghuo, let alone here. Yinghuo was only publicly tested last week. After all, he’s a star. Why would he live stream on a small platform instead of getting exposure on a big one? What’s the point?”

“True... But I’ve noticed that even though he doesn’t do this kind of thing, there are still many people cashing in on his popularity,” Sui Yuan says.

“What do you mean?”

“There’s a live stream about cute pets. The room is called Buddhist Parrot Daily Life, and the personal information lists the address as The Movie King’s Home. Hahaha.”

"Hmm? Let me see!" Wu Qingqing reaches up for the phone, waits a few seconds, and gets in.

On the screen, a cute white parrot with an adorable appearance holds a small microphone and sings quite well.

Looking at the avatar of this account, she recognizes it as the parrot from the live stream, exuding cuteness in a different style.

Wu Qingqing, who loves cute little animals, is instantly charmed. She has seen many Live streamings featuring cute pets, but most of them are heavily scripted. Either the animals are well-trained, or they are purely natural performers. However, this author’s approach seems very casual—like the pet is performing on its own without any filming or voiceover guidance nearby, which is quite rare.

Wu Qingqing expresses her excitement and then clicks into the author's profile.

Upon seeing it, she is stunned. 

She is a true fan of Li Pu and knows all about his accounts on various platforms—like the specific numbers in his ID and his special logos...

“Sui Yuan...” Wu Qingqing calls her friend’s name in shock.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think the sun really rises from the west today.”

“...Huh?”

“This seems to be Li Pu’s account?” Wu Qingqing takes her mobiLi Pune and quickly opens Li Pu’s account on the Xinghuo Live Platform for comparison. “To be honest, I’m not completely sure, but I have a strong feeling it is.”

Sui Yuan: ? ? ?

Finally, with doubts and expectations, a fan of his looks and a fan of his true talent sit together to watch this Live streaming, which is indeed suspected to be Li Pu’s account but couldn’t possibly be stolen. Perhaps it is a new trick played by the company.

At that moment, there are already more than a dozen people in the Live streaming room.

“The song is over. I’m going to drink some water. Don’t leave.” In the camera, the white parrot tilts its head, and the feather crown on its head shakes slightly.

The barrage fills with comments from people who enjoy cute pet Live streamings, showing their support:

【Ahhh, what a cute little parrot!】

【What's wrong with the little parrot wanting to drink water? Drink! It can drink!】

【We're not leaving~ Come back quickly after your drink~ Of course, show us you drinking water too!】

But there are also some who have different perspectives: 

【I just got here; is this dubbed?】

【Why isn't this parrot doing the punchlines??】

【It's dubbed.】

【It sounds real to me... The tone is exactly like my parrot】

Bai Gaoxing looks at the barrage of comments popping up in the corner of the computer screen, and his mood is as good as if he is enjoying a pound of five-spice melon seeds.

Just ten minutes earlier, he enters the livestream room, marking his first livestream since stepping back from reality and stopping being a human. 

Initially, he thinks no one would watch, but it turns out that the platform has some sort of "newcomer recommendation," which gives a little push to accounts that are live streaming for the first time.

To be honest, he doesn’t know how to start. If he acts too silly, it will be difficult to expand later, and if he acts too well, it will be too eye-catching. After much thought, he decides to sing a song first. 

For example, "If You're Happy and You Know It," a top choice for bird enthusiasts.

Of course, belting high notes or DJing is also an option; with his current voice, he could make the security guards at the community come running.

At first, the livestream room is incredibly quiet; Bai Gaoxing feels like he is entertaining himself. However, after singing three simple songs he remembers the lyrics to, the number of viewers settles on a sparse figure.

In the camera, Bai Gaoxing can see himself casually holding the microphone with one claw and flapping his wings lazily. 

The huge microphone isn’t suitable for holding at all. In the first few minutes, he tries to stand on it and talk while looking down, but it is too tiring. So, he finds a mini microphone among the sundries, which is much more suitable.

During the intermission of the Live streaming, Bai Gaoxing flies to the living room for a few sips of water to soothe his dry throat before flying back without stopping. It is too precious to find someone who can talk to him, and he mustn’t waste time.

【I’m back!】

【Where's the person filming? Say something!】

【There was also a long silence just now; isn't that too unprofessional?】

【No, no, no, I don’t want to see people. I just want to see the cute big parrot!】

【What breed is this?】

【What's the pet's name?】

【Dabai, it says up there.】

“Species,” Bai Gaoxing recalls the ‘breeding manual.’ “It’s a Wutong Parrot.”

【.】

【? ?】

【……】

【Laughing to death, how could there be an owner who teaches a parrot to say its own species?】

【This host is so unique.】

Bai Gaoxing feels a bit depressed and says, “This is my own livestream room.”

Anyone who understands thinks it is the account owner filming, but he also wants to clarify—this is Dabai the parrot's private account! 

Although no one would believe that.

The comments are shocked:

【Is this also taught by the owner?】

【It's definitely dubbed; so fake.】

【Let’s not talk about anything else, but the Wutong Parrot… isn't cheap.】

【You can tell; the streamer's house exudes an air of understated luxury~ Ah~ it’s the smell of money~】

Bai Gaoxing looks at the time, yawns, and says, “Let’s chat; otherwise, it’s so boring.”

【What does a parrot know about boredom!】

【Life, oh, it's all tears. I want to be a bored parrot too.】

【So many points to critique; I don’t even know where to start.】

【It really feels so fake... Doesn’t the streamer feel awkward at all?】

【But being able to train a parrot to cooperate completely is still impressive.】

Being considered to be dubbing, Bai Gaoxing feels no more psychological pressure and begins to let himself go. “It’s not dubbing, it’s not dubbing! There can’t be another parrot in the world that speaks better than me.”

The barrage laughs at this, concluding that half of it is dubbing and half of it is the parrot talking by itself. After all, normal people would blush when they say such things.

But Bai Gaoxing wants this effect.

Bai Gaoxing chats leisurely with the people on the other side of the computer and finds that in just a short time, the number of viewers in the Live streaming room increases from a dozen to dozens, rapidly approaching three digits.

To be honest, he feels a little panicked.

He hadn’t expected that the efficiency of cute pet livestreaming would be so much higher than studying; previously, he live streamed for several days to reach a hundred viewers, but for the parrot Live streaming, it has only been... 

Well, after all, this body is very cute!

Bai Gaoxing feels that he has found the highlight.

But Li Pu wouldn’t find out, right? That is what he is afraid of.

It shouldn’t be possible—this is Li Pu ’s small account, with only ten fans, and the Live streaming platform is unknown. There’s no reason anyone would realize he’s Li Pu ’s parrot!

Thinking about how Li Pu has never taken a photo of him, Bai Gaoxing feels even more at ease. 

Moreover, it seems Li Pu wouldn’t use his pet for business, so he is currently in a very safe state.

The pure white parrot fluffs its feathers, and the crest on its head rises and falls repeatedly, delighting the viewers in the livestream room and prompting them to send gifts. Bai Gaoxing thanks each one but is too lazy to look at the list of gift senders, simply saying, “Thank you.”

Now, many people are more certain that his previous clever dialogues are “dubbing.”

Bai Gaoxing ignores those in the barrage urging him to say something strange and those asking him to prove it isn’t dubbing. When he grows tired of chatting, he raises his head and checks the time. Almost an hour has passed.

The sunset casts a warm glow outside; it is already evening. 

That means… Li Pu could return at any moment.

Bai Gaoxing perks up and quickly says into the microphone, “That’s it for today’s livestream! Master is coming back! See you all next time~”

And then he turns off the device.

Wait! When is “next time”??

Before the enthusiastic viewers can flood the comments with inquiries, the livestream room has already vanished.

In the dormitory.

Watching the Live streaming, Sui Yuan speaks with disbelief: “Is this parrot really Li Pu’s?”

“It’s also possible... a friend borrowed the account?” Wu Qingqing replies hesitantly. But who would borrow a Live streaming account from a celebrity? It’s not like they are trying to ride on each other's popularity!

As a national-level artist, Li Pu has a large fanbase ranging from eight to eighty years old. Naturally, many people like Wu Qingqing have picked up on the clues about the account. 

Within less than an hour of the Live streaming, the news spreads among several fan groups. Some share screen recordings and repeatedly compare whether this account belongs to Li Pu.

At six o’clock in the evening of the same day, the hashtag #ThisParrotIsLiPu# quietly tops the hot search list.

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Table of Contents