449: Chapter 449 Master Que, He's Done

The door of Dormitory 303 was pushed open forcefully, almost hitting the wall.

Chen Jiahao burst through the door like a signal flare fresh from the barrel, his steps carrying a gust of wind.

"Master Que, Master Que, it's done!"

His voice was loud enough to wake the people in the dormitory across the hall.

The expression on his face looked as if he had won the lottery and then been struck by lightning, twisted with excitement.

"Dan Yi agreed! We're going tomorrow!"

Xu Changge's pen stopped on the paper as he looked up.

Lin Que leaned back in his chair and silently tucked his phone into the drawer.

"How did you do it?"

Xu Changge's tone carried a sense of genuine surprise.

In his observation, Dan Yi was the most unapproachable of all the trainees.

That coldness wasn't out of hostility toward anyone; rather, it was as if his whole being was encased in a layer of transparent ice.

When others reached out, they always touched that slippery and hard surface.

Chen Jiahao plopped into his swivel chair, causing it to slide back with a clang against the desk leg before stopping.

"You guys should have seen the scene," he gestured with his hands, his expression extremely exaggerated.

"When I went over, Dan Yi was sitting by the window reading a book.

When he heard me come in, he looked over with a gaze that felt like minus forty-four degrees—exactly like winter in Mo City."

"I said, 'Brother Dan Yi, want to go for a stroll in Beihai Park together tomorrow?' He gave me a look, and my spine went cold instantly, like I was standing in the freezing wind of Mo City."

He shivered, whether from actual cold or for dramatic effect.

Lin Que took a sip of water and didn't respond.

"Then I knew that relying on my own reputation definitely wouldn't be enough."

Chen Jiahao held up an index finger, his tone carrying the relief of a survivor.

"I quickly added, 'It's organized by Master Que'."

He looked at Lin Que, his admiration unconcealed.

"Master Que, guess what? After I said that, Dan Yi was stunned."

"His gaze changed too.

Just for a few seconds, he looked down at the book in front of him and then said one word."

Chen Jiahao mimicked Dan Yi's tone, lowering and flattening his voice.

"'Okay.'"

"One word! Just one word! Without even a hint of inflection! But he agreed!"

Chen Jiahao leaned back in his chair like a soldier who had just finished a hard battle, limbs sprawled out.

"Master Que, what kind of love potion did you give him?"

He spun his chair to face Lin Que, his expression full of confusion.

"I wasted three minutes of breath, and he didn't even look at me.

The moment your name came out, it was settled in three seconds."

Lin Que didn't answer.

Chen Jiahao didn't expect an answer either; his attention was already starting to wander.

His mind had always been quick to jump; before the heat of the previous topic had even dissipated, a new thought popped up.

"By the way, don't you think Elder Cui's Brain-Computer Interface System today was impressive?"

He crossed his legs and pointed to his head.

"Third generation—the cursor follows your eyes, and it can even score emotions in real-time.

If I could borrow it for a couple of days to read web novels, I'd know in a second which book is actually good."

He got more excited as he spoke, drawing circles in the air with his hand.

"It would be even more amazing if it could be controlled remotely. Sitting in the dorm and being able to see what others are thinking—how convenient."

The speaker was careless.

Lin Que looked up, his gaze narrowing slightly.

"What did you just say?"

Chen Jiahao was stunned for a moment.

"The love potion you gave my roommate?"

Xu Changge tapped his pen on the paper, his voice soft: "The second half."

Chen Jiahao scratched his head and recalled for a couple of seconds.

"Brain-computer? Remote control?"

Lin Que didn't press further.

His gaze fell on the desk surface, but his focus was not on any physical object.

Something was spinning rapidly in those eyes, like a high-speed precision instrument, with the sound of all the gears meshing sealed inside his skull.

The word "remote" was like a spark, falling directly into the tangled mess of thoughts in his mind.

script reading session.

Director Guo Changhe said they could clear the set, sign non-disclosure agreements, and have all staff members avoid the area.

But Lin Que quickly realized that none of these were the optimal solution.

He didn't need to be there at all.

An encrypted video link, one-way video, voice changer processing, plus another layer of non-disclosure agreement would be enough to keep his identity tightly locked.

"Dream Weaver" had never made any personal information public.

No one knew what he looked like, how old he was, or which city he lived in.

For someone who established himself solely through words and voice, participating in the reading with a black screen and distorted audio tracks...

...would instead perfectly uphold the sense of mystery surrounding "Dream Weaver".

Moreover, remote meant he could sit in the studio...

...and scrutinize every actor's facial expressions, body language, and line delivery rhythm through the camera.

He needed to see not a finished product rehearsed many times, but the most instinctive reactions of these actors when they first read the script.

That unpolished, raw state was the key to judging whether an actor could sustain a character.

Lin Que followed this logical chain from beginning to end, every link fitting perfectly.

While Chen Jiahao was still rambling about various fantasy uses for the brain-computer device, Xu Changge lowered his head again.

The tip of his pen glided gently across the paper, continuing to polish the communication content at the end of "heavenly questions".

No one noticed the change in Lin Que's state.

The night deepened.

Chen Jiahao finally stopped his daily information bombardment and headed toward the washroom at the end of the hallway with his toothbrush cup, his slippers slapping against the floor.

Xu Changge leaned over the desk, his left hand pressing down on the manuscript paper while his right hand's pen was almost out of ink.

In the blank space of the manuscript, he wrote a small line of text: "An out-of-tune nursery rhyme," and circled it three times with a red pen.

Lin Que pulled the encrypted phone from the drawer.

The screen lit up, most of the light blocked by his palm.

In the email reply box, the cursor blinked for a few seconds.

Lin Que's thumb swiped quickly, typing out a short piece of text.

[Director Guo, I won't be coming to the site.]

He paused for two seconds.

[But I can be online for the whole process.]

[On the day of the script reading, October 20th, set up an encrypted video line.

One-way video: your cameras stay on, mine stays off. The audio will be processed with distortion.]

[I will watch every actor's reaction while reading the script and give you text instructions in real-time for any adjustments needed.]

[Additionally, there is one condition.]

Lin Que's thumb paused over the send button for half a second.

[All personnel participating in the reading must sign the highest-level non-disclosure agreement in advance. Any leak regarding the communication details will be considered a breach of contract.]

[As for where the soul of the character Zhao Li lies, I will personally tell Yu Yi on the day of the reading.]

Send.

The phone screen went dark.

Lin Que stuffed the phone back into the bottom of the drawer and closed the latch.

He leaned back in his chair, his gaze falling on the masterless LED tube light on the ceiling.

Seven minutes later, the phone vibrated in the drawer.

Lin Que didn't open it immediately.

He knew it was Director Guo Changhe's reply.

He could almost imagine Guo Changhe's reaction at this moment: shock, doubt, excitement...

...all eventually compressed into a single sentence:

"It's settled."

...