IBFAIBPMSH Chapter 23 part 3

At this moment, Li Pu is not on a return flight, as Bai Gaoxing thought, but in the largest flower and bird market in the center of Jiangcheng. 

Although the sun is about to set, the nightlife of Jiangcheng, known as the “city that never sleeps,” has just begun. Even the flower and bird market won’t close until after nine o’clock in the evening.

Li Pu, dressed in a formal outfit that seems out of place, along with a mask and hat, pauses at the entrance of the market and looks around. 

It is the evening rush hour when families come out for walks after dinner. With a university town nearby, Li Pu, despite his strange attire, is no longer conspicuous in the crowd. He lowers the brim of his hat to avoid the curious eyes of passing children and blends in with the crowd.

As the sky grows darker, the lights of the shops gradually illuminate the market. Many shop owners set up their stalls for the night, clearly marking their prices.

"Hey, kid, want to see some rabbits? The kind that doesn’t grow big!"

"Golden Shaded, with a pedigree certificate. We also have Ragdolls; what kind of quality are you looking for..."

"A single hamster is so lonely; why not buy two for companionship~"

"..."

Walking from the beginning to the end of the flower and bird market takes a long time, so the flow of people obviously decreases toward the middle. However, Li Pu does not stop; he looks around as if searching for something.

Finally, he stops in front of a stall.

The owner, who has just cleaned the birdcage, looks up and is startled to see a tall man staring at him quietly. He jumps, causing the disinfectant bottle in his hand to spurt, almost splashing on the customer. The owner wipes his face, glances at Li Pu's attire, and regains his composure. "Looking at the birds?"

Li Pu’s eyes sweep across the row of exquisite cages and the colorful birds inside, and he replies simply, "Looking."

The owner rubs his hands and smiles. "What kind do you like? Pretty? Good-sounding?"

Li Pu says, “Talking ones.” 

The owner understands and points to the store behind him. "You mean parrots? Of course, we have those. They're all in the store. Come in and take a look?"

Li Pu nods and follows the owner into the store. 

Upon entering, a mix of grains and the distinctive smell of birds hits him. Li Pu raises his hand to adjust his mask slightly, thinking that Dabai always smells clean, with only a warm, furry scent.

Noticing Li Pu's action, the owner smiles. "There's no way around it; there are too many birds here, and the smell is strong. I have to clean it every day, but I haven't started today yet." 

As he speaks, he pulls out a tray from a cage, skillfully removes the plastic wrap, and replaces it with a new one. Li Pu notices the yellow and white stains splattered on the wall, remnants from years of neglect.

His eyelids twitch.

The owner leads Li Pu to a row of huge electroplated cages. "Here they are! There are all kinds of species. Which one do you want?" 

Li Pu stands in silence before the colorful and bizarre parrots, as if deep in thought. 

In reality, he is just taking a look.

Before getting off the plane, he hadn’t planned to visit the flower and bird market, but the roadside advertisements have caught his attention. 

He has already confirmed he doesn’t have the energy to raise another parrot, but after realizing the market is quite close, he decides to come and see the parrots on the market in person.

Relying solely on the explanations in the “breeding manual” is too theoretical; it is more convincing to experience it up close—this is what Li Pu thinks, preferring hands-on experience. 

But he doesn’t expect these parrots to be so different from Dabai.

Li Pu moves a little closer to one of the cages, startling the parrot inside, which flaps its wings in alarm. The tips of its feathers are already ragged, and its round eyes narrow sharply.

"Are there any parrots that aren't afraid of people?" Li Pu turns around and asks, "The larger ones."

"Then it would have to be hand-raised," the owner replies, opening another door that reveals several rows of custom wooden boxes. "We have a just-weaned macaw with certificates and rings. It's not afraid of people, just perfect for raising... but it's a bit expensive."

He pauses, adding, "There are also a few gray parrots, but they're a bit large and tend to bite. You'd have to train them when you get home."

Li Pu looks at the colorful parrots in the boxes. The feathers of these parrots have not yet completely fallen out, and they curiously peer at him with their black eyes, scrambling to stick their heads out and making sharp sounds to ask for food. 

Their beaks are bigger than Dabai's.

Even if he really wants to take one home, Li Pu doubts his ability to prevent this type of parrot from biting. He thinks for a moment, then asks under the expectant gaze of the owner, "Will parrots of different breeds fight if raised together?"

In the cage next to a nest of baby parrots, two parrots squabble, feathers flying as they jump up and down. 

The owner looks conflicted. "It depends on their personalities," he says. "I won’t lie to you. If you get a parrot with a good temperament, it's usually fine. Some have fought since they were raised, and certain breeds are basically aggressive. Many people don’t understand this and put them in a cage immediately after buying them, only to find them bleeding the next day."

Li Pu hums in response, considering Dabai's intelligence; it is quite likely that accidents could happen.

The owner is curious and asks, "Do you have one at home, too? What kind?"

Li Pu replies, "A Wutong parrot."

The owner clicks his tongue. "That's quite expensive. Is it a solitary or a communal species?"

Li Pu looks at him. "Aren't they the same?"

"Not at all," the owner says. "You can tell a solitary one right away; you only need to raise one, or it will turn your home upside down. The communal ones are friendly and can be raised in groups, but if you're keeping one as a companion, it's best to have just one."

"Why?"

The owner laughs. "You wouldn't understand! This type of parrot has a very domineering personality and will treat its owner as a companion. If there are other birds, it will get jealous and might even become aggressive."

Domineering?

Li Pu raises his eyebrows, thinking about the well-behaved Dabai at home, who doesn’t make any noise or cause trouble. He can't imagine what jealousy would look like. 

He casually says, "Then never mind; I don't want any others."

The owner feels he is losing a big customer and wants to smack his thigh. Instead, he asks, "How about buying some food to take home? I have a lot of treats that Wutong parrots love; everyone who's tried them says they enjoy them!"

"..."

Ultimately, Li Pu walks out of the flower and bird market carrying a variety of parrot snacks. 

Amid the surrounding noise, he doesn't notice the screen of his mobiLi Pune lighting up in his pocket and misses a call from his assistant.

...

"Brother Li won't answer." Mei Youshu put down his phone and looks helplessly at the woman holding a cigarette at the table.

"Forget it if he doesn't answer." Lei Li taps on the phone she uses to manage Li Pu's job accounts, realizing she doesn’t even have time to find a lighter. 

This phone is her tool for managing all of Li Pu's platform accounts—not that she wants to, as it is too strange. But the artist is even stranger; in her twenty years in the industry, she has never encountered such a situation, yet here she is handling it.

Lei Li’s fingers tap the screen harder and harder.

"That Live streaming... was really done by Brother Li?" Mei Youshu, who has been Li Pu’s assistant for two years, has never seen anything so bizarre. Could raising a pet truly change someone’s heart? Is the healing power of pets really that strong?

“Who else could it be? I’ve traced the IP of his account,” Lei Li shakes her phone, her expression momentarily weird. “I just didn’t expect he went back early for this?”

Earlier that afternoon, she learns through Lin Shi that Li Pu has changed his flight and returned two hours early. 

She is puzzled as to why he has suddenly come back early with no other work lined up, and shortly thereafter, she sees the video uploaded in a small fan group.

As an agent, keeping track of fan movements is important, and she has several small accounts for this purpose. But she never expected this: Li Pu, a man who typically isolates himself from social platforms, has quietly shown off his pet! 

And he does it through a live stream.

It is completely inconsistent with Li Pu's usual style, but it also aligns with his behavior—he hasn’t chosen the popular Xinghuo Live Platform but rather a small, inconspicuous one. 

Clearly, he doesn’t want too many people to see it.

But he probably doesn’t realize that this platform is connected to Xinghuo and that his account is linked to it. 

So... he just wants to secretly show off his pet?

Lei Li clicks on the saved video again. In the video, the fluffy little creature is clearly visible, chatting with the audience in a cute little voice.

Could Li Pu really be this good at raising birds? The question pops into Lei Li's mind but quickly fades away.

Rather than believing that this man, who is completely immersed in getting back into shape during his time off, could muster the patience to train a bird, she is more inclined to think that this parrot is just very intelligent.

“So… what about this trending topic…?” Mei Youshu holds his phone, watching the search term fluctuate at the bottom of the trending list, seemingly showing no signs of rising. 

According to previous habits, any hot search regarding Li Pu's private life outside of work would be suppressed by the company at his request. Work-related hot searches, as long as they aren’t negative, are usually left alone. 

But this time... which category does this fall into?

Lei Li provides a decisive answer: "Let it float." 

The woman switches the cigarette to her other hand, contemplating. "It seems that raising a pet has indeed improved his condition. Maybe he’s finally come to his senses." 

After saying this, even she can’t help but laugh.

Sorry, but that line is just too funny when applied to Li Pu.

"What do you think?" She looks at the young man beside her.

Mei Youshu considers the question and nods repeatedly, "Brother Li cares a lot about Dabai." 

So he takes out his mobiLi Pune again, "Then I'll call Brother Li to tell him..."

"Why call?" Lei Li laughs. "Aren't these accounts fully handed over to us? It would be strange for his fans to believe it."

He must be really upset. Mei Youshu has a hunch and doesn’t respond, just refreshing the comments under Li Pu’s account.

 As Lei Li has said, the comments are filled with "hahahaha" and "don’t believe it." Everyone has grown accustomed to Li Pu's quiet account status, and any curious comments have been suppressed.

Maybe... Brother Li can still enjoy some peace for a while?

Turning around, Lei Li turns off her phone, picks up her bag, and smoothly takes out her coat. "Time to get off work!"

...

The dark living room suddenly lights up, and Bai Gaoxing knows with his eyes closed that Li Pu has returned.

It seems he is back a bit later than expected…? Bai Gaoxing glances at the time, but it is better this way, as it gives him enough time to clean up the house. 

Just as he is about to flutter over, he notices the two large bags in Li Pu's hands.

How considerate! Bringing local specialties back from a business trip!?

Bai Gaoxing lets out a happy cry, whistling "Mua~," and then lands on the bag to see what is inside. 

They say Green City is famous for its desserts; maybe there are all kinds of special cakes and sweets in there? 

Thinking of this, Bai Gaoxing stretches out his claws to hook the edge of the bag. "Open it quickly and take a look!"

After a moment, he feels that his attitude toward his owner is too demanding, so he adds, "Welcome back~"

Li Pu puts down the bag and strokes Bai Gaoxing’s head twice. Bai Gaoxing stands obediently, his eyes fixed on the big bag. 

Then, Li Pu begins to take things out. He pulls out a dozen jars, bottles, and packages.

At first, it looks pretty normal with dried fruits and vegetables, sunflower seeds, and the like, but later on, there are things like dried mealworms and dried snails… What is this, Li Pu?! Did you go on a business trip or some strange camping trip?

Li Pu pauses, puzzled by the parrot that has been so excited just a moment ago but is now stiff, its feathers slightly fluffed up.

Right… After being apart for too long, parrots can react like this.

He needs to help it become familiar with him again. 

This is a perfect opportunity to try out the snacks. 

Li Pu unscrews the can in his hand, tentatively reaches out, and takes out a long strip of dried food from it. 

But he doesn’t expect that Dabai not only doesn’t approach with curiosity as usual but instead retreats further, its eyes growing wider.

Uh ah ah ah ah ah——! Take it away quickly!!

Bai Gaoxing swears he has absolutely no hobby of eating insects, so he backs away until he is pressed against the leg of the sofa. 

It seems he really doesn’t like it. Li Pu understands Dabai's reaction and decides to set the luggage down first. However, on his way to the room, he notices that several doors that shouldn’t have been open are ajar. 

Especially... the one containing important items.

“You’d better not be misbehaving,” Li Pu thinks of the possibility of the Wutong parrot causing a ruckus and glances at the fluffy white creature by the sofa before heading straight inside. 

Bai Gaoxing... is terrified.

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