Chapter 55

"What did you say!?"

Hearing this, Director Sun stood up suddenly with such force that he knocked over the chair.

The instructor Xiao Yi was frightened by this extreme reaction. He looked up and saw Director Sun looking at him with a sharp gaze. He had to bite the bullet and confirm again: "Yes, Dabai has memorized all the lines."

"Just one afternoon?"

"To be exact... less than three hours."

“…”

“…”

Silence spread between the two.

"Then what are you waiting for!" Suddenly, Director Sun pulled the vest off the back of the chair. His rapid steps seemed to be able to bring up a gust of wind. When Xiao Yi raised his head again, he could only see a receding figure.

At this moment, the bird room.

Having just finished teaching Taiwanese lyrics, Li Phou was very satisfied with the progress of his parrot - or rather, it was far beyond his expectations.

The method taught by the trainer was very useful. After feeling the vibration of his vocal cords, Dabai began to make sounds along with him. Although it was very vague for a while, it finally became as clear as usual.

The only difference is that it's not as vigorous.

Li Pu lifted the parrot lying in his arms and felt its furry body was still limp. He didn't quite understand why learning lines would make it become like this.

...Because it consumes brain power?

The snow-white, fluffy head with a gray feather finally moved.

Bai Gaoxing, who had been dizzy for a long time, finally raised his head from Li Pu. His eyes were dull and his mind was in a mess.

But soon, he recalled what had just happened.

Bai Gaoxing felt that he was about to turn into a black phoenix.

Li Pho's mouth... mouth! Stick it to his face!

Bai Gaoxing turned his head and stared straight at the man's lips, then couldn't help but look at his nose, eyebrows and eyes.

Hmm...it looks pretty good.

Bai Gaoxing was depressed, but he convinced himself: This is all for the sake of art.

When he thought of art, he thought of lines, and when he thought of lines, he suddenly remembered how he couldn't hold back and let it all out.

It's broken!

The original three-day learning plan was shortened to one day... no, half a day? Let others know what to do?

Bai Gaoxing was a little anxious and wanted to get out to see what time it was, but unfortunately his body was covered too tightly and he couldn't get free.

Li Pu, who obviously felt the struggle in his arms, raised his other hand to cooperate and held the parrot in front of him, "What's wrong?"

Bai Gaoxing: “…”

I don't want to see you yet.

His heart was still pounding with nervousness. When he saw Li Pho's face, he remembered how he had been possessed by a ghost.

So he didn't say anything, but remained stiff, looking up at the sky and down at the ground, not looking at the man in front of him.

Just when the man and the bird were in a stalemate, the door of the bird room was pushed open from the outside, followed by the middle-aged director who came in breathlessly and the trainer following behind.

"Where's Dabai?"

So the time that should have been for dismissal turned into a spur-of-the-moment inspection.

If he went to work, he would definitely hate working overtime. Bai Gaoxing leaned on Li Pu's shoulder, silently watching the director who seemed to have trouble organizing his words.

After a while, he finally started the conversation.

"...I heard that Dabai has memorized all the lines?" Director Sun asked again, as if he was worried that he was dreaming, "Is that true?"

"Yes." Li Pu nodded.

"Then..." Director Sun rubbed his hands, "Can you let it say it again?"

Li Phou lifted up the parrot from his shoulder and gently placed it in front of them.

"Absolutely no problem." Xiao Yi, who had recovered from his shock, said sternly, "I listened to Brother Li's instruction and Dabai repeated it several times. There is absolutely no problem." He even took out his cell phone: "I even recorded the audio and video!"

Bai Gaoxing's clear voice came from the phone: "The Queen Mother said, tonight at midnight..."

Ah, there's no way to fool around.

Looking at the two pairs of expectant eyes in front of him, Bai Gaoxing's feather crown drooped slowly and he was speechless for a moment.

Until a warm finger rubbed his cheek, "Dabai, say it again."

Yikes! Bai Gaoxing was startled and said, "The Queen said that if there is no one in the lotus pond at midnight tonight, he will be punished!"

Full of emotion, clear pronunciation, and rhythmic intonation!

——After all, he consciously imitated the tone of the actress who played the Queen, so there should be nothing wrong with it.

Then, he saw Director Sun's eyes suddenly light up.

In the following time, Bai Gaoxing spoke out a few more lines easily, and saw the director's eyes getting brighter and brighter, almost glowing.

The silence continued for a few seconds, and then a word of "Great!" burst out. Director Sun patted the instructor's shoulder fiercely, making the thin young man stagger. He turned around and said excitedly to Li Pu: "Let's do a trial shoot tomorrow. If Da Bai can maintain this level in front of the camera, we can start the official shooting!"

After saying that, he murmured in distress: "Why is there no night scene of the parrot in the script... If there was a night scene, we would have shot it overnight tonight..."

The staff will beat you if you do that!

Bai Gaoxing was afraid that he would really have to shoot until late at night, so he looked up at Li Pu and got a touch.

"Tomorrow! Remember to come early tomorrow morning!" Director Sun repeatedly reminded Bai Gaoxing before leaving, looking at him as if he had found a treasure. The trainer also reminded him, "Try to keep Dabai in this state, and don't change the environment casually."

Soon, he and Li Pu were the only ones left in the huge room.

Now that he was finally free, Bai Gaoxing happily flew to the sofa, took out the remote control from the crack of the sofa, and before turning it on, he signaled to the man with his eyes: Why don’t you leave yet?

He remembered that Li Pu was staying in a hotel some distance away from the crew. As long as he left, he would be completely free tonight!

Unexpectedly, Li Pu walked straight towards him and took the remote control from his paw.

Then, lift the sofa cushion and flip it over, and a long sofa becomes a simple sofa bed.

"I'll stay here with you tonight." Seeing his parrot tilting its head with a puzzled look, Li Pu smiled. Considering various factors, he decided not to take Dabai to the hotel tonight, but to stay here.

Sitting on the sofa, Li Pu stretched out his hand to his parrot, "Dabai, come here."

Bai Gaoxing walked over slowly and stood on his hand.

The man stood up and put him on the shelf. "You have to get up early tomorrow, so go to bed early." After that, he drew the bed curtain and leaned on the sofa with the script in his hand.

Such a familiar scene... Bai Gaoxing seemed to see the time when they were still at home.

His TV——! No elementary school student schedule!

midnight.

Looking at the bright moonlight outside the window, Bai Gaoxing, who finally felt sleepy, stood on the back of the sofa. He looked down at the sleeping man and tiptoed into the gap between the quilt and the man's body.

Warm~

He drilled in comfortably and closed his eyes.

…

In a blink of an eye, the next day arrived.

"What..." Huang Shaqing was so surprised that her hometown accent came out. "Did Dabai memorize the lines?"

Early on, Xiao Lu, the instructor in charge of Big Brain, told the Queen's actors the news.

"How is that possible?" Huang Shaqing smiled and waved her hands, "Are you and Xiaoyi under too much pressure? Have you confused dreams with reality? I have to talk to Director Sun and ask him to stop putting so much pressure on you."

"No, sister, it's true!" Xiao Lu was a little anxious when she saw that no one believed her. Just when she wanted to give more details, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye: "They are here!"

Not far away, the director led Li Pho and his party towards here. The most eye-catching thing was the golden bird stand in Li Pho's hand and the snow-white bird standing on it.

"Director Sun." When the others got closer, Huang Shaqing walked forward with a smile, "Xiao Lu actually said that Da Bai had memorized all the lines. Really, everyone is too tired recently, how can this be true?"

I thought Director Sun would sigh and force a smile like he did before, but this time he calmly directed the photographer to set the location, then turned around and replied, "It's true. Take one now, and we'll start working if there's no problem."

Huang Shaqing: “Ah?”

Director Sun had already come to Li Pu's side and glanced at the parrot in the cage. "Don't worry, let Da Bai find out the status first and get familiar with it."

Even though he said this, his voice was trembling.

Li Pu looked down and saw the big white parrot with its eyes closed, its head resting on the cage frame, its chest rising and falling in a deep sleep. If it weren't for its pair of grey claws firmly grasping the pole, it would be hard to imagine how it could stand.

What are you doing secretly at night?

Li Pu recalled how he felt when he woke up in the morning, lifted the quilt, and found something soft and warm against his chest, and sighed helplessly.

He stretched out his hand and poked, "Dabai, wake up."

The snow-white parrot on the shelf moved and opened its eyes sleepily.

“It’s about to begin.”

Hearing the reminder from the man beside him, Bai Gaoxing, whose thoughts were still a little confused, said: "Yeah, okay."

The test shoot was short and simple. In order to save time and avoid dragging out the emotions, we only shot scenes with dialogues and there were not many characters.

In the entire Changning Palace, apart from Huang Shaqing who played the empress and Pei Jue who played the heroine, there were only two personal palace maids who chatted with the parrot.

Bai Gaoxing was hung on a rack inside the palace, with several cameras pointing at him from different directions.

Before filming began, Pei Jue even sighed to Huang Shaqing: "Is it finally possible?"

If you ask who suffered the most, it must be the heroine. From breaking into the Changning Palace to leaving after the confrontation, she had something to say in such a long scene. At first, she tried her best to talk but failed.

It was not until later that Director Sun decided to postpone this scene, and she felt relieved.

"Director Sun

It's OK." Huang Shaqing said, "But I haven't heard of it either, let's give it a try."

The camera positions and movements were already well known to the crew, and they quickly got into the role when filming. It was not until the maid sobbed and said the words "Empress Dowager", that everyone present couldn't help but lift their hearts...

After a test take, Director Sun stared at the screen on the monitor and pondered.

"……not bad."

It’s just that Dabai doesn’t look very energetic.

But it's no problem now. Even so, I didn't forget the words and I also grasped the timing very well.

He stood up and looked at his watch. "Get ready. It will officially start at nine in half an hour."

Director Sun came to Li Pu, took a cigarette and put it in his mouth, his voice was not clear: "If it weren't for Dabai, I really don't know what to do." He waved his hand, "I will go and coordinate with the various departments first."

Li Pho stayed where he was and pondered for a moment, then looked at the parrot hanging in the hall.

It can be seen that Dabai is far from the same state as during yesterday's teaching.

With a responsible attitude towards the crew, Li Pu went over and rubbed the fluffy head, trying to wake up his pet.

At this moment, Bai Gaoxing yawned loudly and finally woke up.

God knows how he felt when he was dug out from under the covers in the morning after going to bed too late. He was in a daze the whole time. He even had to force himself to stay awake during the filming just now, and he was able to speak complete lines.

Wait, is this the end?

Bai Gaoxing looked at the cameras set up around and the few staff members, and felt a little disappointed. This is not good enough. He didn't show his true level just now!

I turned around and heard Li Pu say, "When the real shooting starts later, you can't fall asleep again."

Uh-huh??

Bai Gaoxing heaved a sigh of relief. Oh, by the way, they said that they would just do a trial shoot today. It seemed that it was just a test and would start later.

He was so startled that he thought he had fainted.

Bai Gaoxing was in a good mood now. He looked around where he was. The scene layout of Changning Palace was low-key and luxurious, and the objects were exquisitely and classically furnished. It was obvious that the crew was very particular about the details.

With such a dedicated crew, he has to work hard! What if it becomes a classic shot?

Let him think about it... Is there any other way to make the parrot imitating in the play more exciting...

…

At nine o'clock in the morning, the sky just turned cloudy.

Changning Palace was rarely crowded with people.

Last night we heard that today we would be filming a scene where the heroine confronts the Changning Palace, so many actors and actresses rushed here early this morning, determined to bear witness to history.

Did the parrot named Big Head finally memorize the lines? -- That's what they all thought at first.

It was a nightmare-like memory, with countless NGs. From wanting to see two talented actresses perform in the film to wondering, "Did Big Brain NG again today?", it only took a week.

Everyone stretched their necks to look inside, and saw an instructor walking out with a cage, and inside it were huge, colorful heads!

"Hey? Don't you want to shoot anymore?" someone couldn't help but ask.

"No." The trainer Xiao Lu shook his head, "It's a new bird."

Watching the instructor walk away, those who didn't know the inside story were extremely puzzled.

"Didn't they say that only big heads can recite it? Director Sun, have you given up?"

"I know!" someone answered, "I heard someone talk about it before, they said it was foreign aid!"

Someone else added: "Big Brain's lines were not delivered smoothly, which delayed the progress, so the director went to great lengths to invite Big White."

"Oh oh - Dabai! The one that Teacher Li raised?"

"! No wonder I kept seeing Director Sun circling around Teacher Li a few days ago."

"Director Sun hasn't given up yet? I would say just make do with it, and dubbing in the later stage is better than anything else..."

"That may not be the case this time..."

People outside were joining in the excitement, while a bunch of people inside were staring at the surveillance cameras, not daring to make a sound.

Even more nervous than them was Bai Gaoxing. Looking at the lights and cameras all around him and the crowds of people, he let out a long sigh: Don't be nervous!

Filming begins.

The cold woman in gorgeous clothes had a cold expression on her face and quickly pushed the door open and walked in. She quickly glanced at the empty palace and asked in a cold voice, "Where is the queen!?"

The maid in pink looked at her, frowned and stepped forward and said, "The Empress is not here, please go back, Lady Yuan."

The heroine sneered and said loudly: "Could it be that the queen did something shameful that she dared not even see people?"

She looked at the maid who tried to stop her and approached her step by step: "I have found out the truth. Guess, will the Queen save you, or will she shut you up - so that you can never speak again!?"

The maiden still stood firm, but from her unsteady eyes and pale face, it could be seen that she was already a little panicked.

In a few words, the heroine pressed on step by step until the palace maid was terrified and tears came out of her eyes: "The Queen Mother--"

Finally it’s his turn!

Bai Gaoxing, who was admiring the actors' acting skills, frowned and cleared his throat.

Inside the Changning Palace, a voice with ups and downs, and a hint of coldness and viciousness, was heard.

"The Queen Mother said that if there is no one in the lotus pond at midnight tonight, he will be punished!"

Everyone in front of the surveillance camera was stunned.

There is nothing wrong with it, it is very smooth and silky, and the slight parrot-like sluggishness is very real.

However, the sound it made was 80% similar to the voice of a palace maid!

The camera crew on the scene was slow to react and the actors on the scene were also stuck in place.

The actress who played the maid was so frightened that she wanted to look around to see who was imitating her! Huang Shaqing, who was waiting behind the curtain, was so stunned that she couldn't respond in time.

Bai Gaoxing on the shelf waited for a long time, and found that the next sentence the queen was supposed to say was too late. He recalled Huang Shaqing's voice in his mind and spoke for her:

"Let me see who is so ignorant as to break into my Changning Palace at will!?"