On the first day of school, Lou Yuzhu was more excited than Tao Tao. She dressed Tao Tao in newly bought clothes and used a curling wand to style her long hair. After fluffing it up, she braided it into two fishtail braids, turning her into a perfect little forest fairy.
Due to her work, Lou Yuzhu couldn't try many of the hairstyles she liked, so she indulged her preferences by styling Tao Tao the way she wanted, feeling deeply satisfied.
She spun Tao Tao around by the arm, admiring her: "So pretty, so beautiful."
The girl's hair was very long, and the two braids hung down to her waist. She had light purple hair clips at the ends of the braids, a white sundress with spaghetti straps, and high-top canvas shoes.
No matter how Lou Yuzhu looked at her, she was satisfied. Just the hairstyle alone had taken her nearly forty minutes, but she didn't feel tired. She even picked a pair of heart-shaped clip-on earrings from her jewelry box and attached them to Tao Tao's ears.
She gushed inwardly at how adorable Tao Tao was, like dressing up a BJD doll.
She took out her phone and started snapping pictures, completely engrossed in admiring her handiwork.
Tao Tao, however, looked a little uneasy. She was scared of the earrings, hesitating with her hands halfway to her ears, her body stiff. "It hurts... Yu yu, it hurts..."
She spoke haltingly, her whole demeanor frozen as if she were sealed in place.
Lou Yuzhu was startled and gently removed the earrings. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
She'd been so caught up in her own happiness that she hadn't noticed how delicate Tao Tao's earlobes were, making clip-on earrings unsuitable for her.
Even though she'd only worn them for a short while, Tao Tao's ears were already red.
Feeling guilty, Lou Yuzhu gently massaged Tao Tao's ears, blowing on them and planting kisses. "Does it still hurt? Tao Tao's ears are so delicate."
Tao Tao repeated the unfamiliar word: "Delicate..."
She didn't answer whether it still hurt. Instead, she lowered her head to look at her newly braided hair, tugging at the ends with both hands and curiously touching the hair clips.
Lou Yuzhu packed a lunchbox and water bottle into Tao Tao's backpack, reminding her: "Don't wait until you're thirsty to drink water. Take a sip every hour, okay? The school will provide lunch at noon, so don't be too picky about food outside. The meals are standardized, and if you don't eat, you won't have anything else. If anything happens, tell the teacher; the teacher will inform me. I'll pick you up after school, so don't fight with your classmates. Teachers like obedient students."
Fu Ye had mentioned that the school's teachers were all staff from the research institute. Although Fu Ye herself was one of them, she didn't teach there full-time, going to the school only twice a week while focusing on her research work.
Studies showed that although every parrot had a unique personality, their habits often aligned with their species.
For example, lovebirds were aggressive and loved to fight; cockatiels were prone to breeding and forming romantic attachments; monk parrots were bullies, cowering before the strong but terrorizing the weak; and budgies were the friendliest and most sociable, trying to make friends even if the other party was uninterested, often resulting in them seeking affection where it wasn't reciprocated.
It sounded complicated. Even if their personalities were simple, social dynamics among their kind could still lead to cliques and bullying.
Lou Yuzhu was still a bit worried.
Tao Tao tilted her head and asked, "Yu yu likes... likes obedient students?"
Lou Yuzhu nodded. "I do. So Tao Tao must behave."
After sending Tao Tao to school, Lou Yuzhu herself was ready for work.
To be honest, suddenly taking care of Tao Tao as a student was exhausting for Lou Yuzhu. It required more time and money, with the additional costs of a student's expenses being no small matter compared to raising a bird. The increase in spending was significant.
Her income hadn't changed, and her work had recently been relocated. She liked Tao Tao very much and had once fantasized about what her pets might say to her if they turned human. How would they interact?
Now that her fantasy had come true, the pressure was immense.
* * * *
At the radio station, Zhen Zhou was doing her makeup. Her once vibrant hair had been dyed jet black, and her youthful Barbie-like face was covered with heavy foundation to make her look more mature.
The makeup artist greeted Lou Yuzhu as she entered, "Good morning, Sister Lou."
Lou Yuzhu replied, "Good morning."
Shortly after sitting down, a staff member brought her coffee as usual. Surrounded by familiar faces and a familiar environment, she couldn't shake an uncomfortable feeling.
"This interview draft is no longer of use to me. You can take it." She pulled out something she'd stayed up late writing and placed it on Zhen Zhou's desk.
She wasn't sure what level of training Zhen Zhou had received in school, but being a host required more than just memorizing scripts.
Zhen Zhou smiled at Lou Yuzhu. "Thank you."
Soon, Lou Yuzhu found out just what Zhen Zhou was capable of. During a practice news report, Zhen Zhou mimicked her tone, expressions, and even her eye movements when looking at the camera with astonishing accuracy.
Lou Yuzhu felt uneasy. "Miss Zhen Zhou, perhaps you could try reporting in your own style. Pure imitation might leave you unable to handle unexpected situations."
Zhen Zhou looked straight at her and enunciated each word: "This is what you call imitation."
The moment she spoke, the familiar voice startled Lou Yuzhu, leaving her unable to control her expression. "You—you... How do you have Fu Ye's voice?"
It was terrifying. If someone used this for phone scams, who could distinguish between the real person and the imposter? The voice was identical to Fu Ye's.
Zhen Zhou propped her face up with her hands, a hint of pride in her expression. "Listening enough makes it easy. I'm amazing!"
In the end, she was still an intern, untempered by the harsh realities of society, eager to flaunt her talents as soon as she had them.
Lou Yuzhu was so shocked she forgot her earlier annoyance. "You don't even know Fu Ye. How did you hear her? How did you learn?"
Zhen Zhou's eyes darted around. She didn't actually know who Fu Ye was. "President Lu asked me to learn."
It wasn't until Lou Yuzhu brought it up that she realized the voice President Lu had asked her to mimic belonged to someone named Fu Ye.
This revelation startled Lou Yuzhu even more. "Wait a second, President Lu asked you to mimic another woman's voice for her? That's twisted! Why would you comply just because she asked? You have your own voice; why replicate someone else's?"
No wonder the Paul II flower Zhen Zhou had eaten in the office that day had looked so familiar—it came from Fu Ye's garden.
Why would Lu Ling keep a pet parrot-lover to imitate Fu Ye's voice? What kind of fetish was this?
Zhen Zhou couldn't answer these questions either. It seemed like something that had puzzled her for a while. Her previously smug expression turned visibly confused. "I don't know. President Lu likes hearing it in bed."
The bombshell information left Lou Yuzhu wide-eyed. She glanced around quickly. Luckily, the recording hadn't started yet, and only the two of them were in the studio.
What did that mean? Was Fu Ye gay? No, that didn't seem right. Maybe Lu Ling was secretly in love with her, and when she couldn't have her, she fell out with her and came up with this bizarre method to satisfy her desires.
Even now, Lou Yuzhu was reluctant to believe her best friend was a lesbian.
"Wait, wait, wait..." Lou Yuzhu felt her brain overheating, unable to process it. "Don't you think this is weird? President Lu asks you to do something, and you just do it? She's exploiting you! She's toying with you! You're a person with your own mind. Why follow her every word?"
She was furious, unconsciously projecting her anger onto Tao Tao. Parrot-people didn't seem to realize they were being humiliated, casually recounting it as if it were nothing.
Zhen Zhou drew circles on the table with her finger. "But President Lu bought me a big house, a car, and pays me 100,000 yuan per phrase. Ten phrases equal a million. If she offered you the money, wouldn't you take it?"
Lou Yuzhu fell silent...
Would Tao Tao turn out like this someday?