Chapter 42: Should I Tell You I'm Cheating?
The other reporters at the scene were itching to drag William home for a slow interrogation. The day's events were just too newsworthy. For days now, the newspapers had been filled with stories about him.
Many students in the audience raised their hands, eager to ask William questions.
With a nod from the professors, William chose a girl with big, cute-looking eyes.
"William, I want to ask how you can learn so quickly and why your knowledge is so broad. Could you share some of your learning methods with us?"
Hearing the cute girl's question, William thought to himself, *If you had a system like I do, you could be just like me. You might even be a better student. This cheat is awesome.*
Of course, he couldn't say that out loud. William thought for a moment before answering, "It's mostly interest and a desire for knowledge. I also have a good memory; you could say it's photographic. The more I remember, the more questions I have, which prompts me to proactively learn even more. It's a self-perpetuating cycle."
Many people in the audience silently cursed. *Damn it, give the rest of us a chance to live! It takes me a whole day to memorize what William can in an hour. How can you even compare?* they thought. *It's not that we don't work hard; our opponent is just inhuman.*
Some of the reporters began to shout, "William, show us this photographic memory of yours! Give us a demonstration on the spot!"
"Yes, yes!" the crowd chimed in.
Even Professor Roy nodded with a smile, crossing his arms as he settled in to watch the show.
A classmate took out a deck of playing cards and shouted, "William, William! Over here, look here!"
Everyone turned to look at the student and laughed when they saw the deck of cards in his hand.
William sighed helplessly. "Alright, could that student please come up?"
Once the student was on stage, William announced to the audience, "I'll have this student shuffle this deck of cards. Then, I'll take one minute to look through them and will then recite the order of every single card."
"Okay!"
"No problem!"
William took the shuffled deck from the student and began looking through the cards one by one while someone timed him. In under 30 seconds, he finished and signaled that he was done.
The timekeeper shouted, "Twenty-eight seconds!" and the audience began to buzz. They hadn't expected him to finish in under half a minute and wondered if he could really remember them all.
William gave the cards back to the student, signaling for him to verify the answers.
"Seven of Diamonds, Three of Hearts, Ten of Clubs..." William began reciting the cards one by one. After he'd gone through the entire deck, it was confirmed: every single card was correct.
Everyone stood up and applauded him, and the reporters' cameras flashed nonstop, capturing the moment.
After that, someone tested William with a book. He was able to memorize a list of 1,000 English words in under two minutes, stunning the audience once again.
Finally, amidst congratulations from the university staff and his fellow students, William received his graduation certificate. He posed for pictures in the bachelor's gown provided by the university, taking photos with many of his classmates. Several girls even held onto his arm and kissed his cheek for a picture.
Having smoothly obtained his degree and graduation certificate, William breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the university truly valued him as a future alumnus; he couldn't imagine how many rules they had bent for him in a single day.
After a busy afternoon, the graduation events were finally over. Even William, whose physical stamina was several times that of an ordinary person, felt a bit exhausted.
While William slept soundly at home, the outside world was erupting with news about him. The University of London had a video of the afternoon's defense, and somehow, the BBC had gotten a copy. They quickly produced a special program titled, "England's Super Genius: William Devinshire."
The show opened with the footage of William's card trick at the university. Memorizing a full deck in under 28 seconds was simply incredible to the British public at the time.
Viewers watching the show were stunned by William's feat, many shouting, "This is impossible!"
Next, the BBC broadcasted clips of William's brilliant answers from his defense. Although most viewers couldn't understand the technical details, they could still sense how impressive it was.
Finally, the program showed Professor Roy announcing the approval of William's graduation, followed by another professor and an editor-in-chief stating that William's knowledge surpassed that of a doctoral candidate and that he could even apply for an associate professorship. By now, the audience was numb with shock. They had to accept it was all true.
William's purpose had also been achieved. Now, if he produced any new inventions or achieved new results in the future, people would not be overly surprised.
The show also recounted how William had sold his game and his new MP3 invention for over £100 million, speculating that he would likely become England's youngest billionaire. This news made girls all across England dream of dating him.
He was hailed as the new idol of England, even more popular than the handsome football star David Beckham. Meanwhile, the middle-aged and elderly generations praised William for his hard work and talent in becoming a self-made millionaire.
William was now a national idol in England, and this wave of popularity slowly spread to the European continent and the United States.
The phenomenon was especially pronounced in America, which fell in love with the young, wealthy heir to an earldom. When an NBC news crew randomly interviewed young women on the street, 100% of them said they wanted to marry William.
*Chinatown Daily* said: "William Devinshire is the most talented billionaire of the new century."
The *Los Angeles Times* said: "The man American women most want to date: William Devinshire. He is a global idol, the darling of England, and a role model for the youth of the new century."
William knew nothing of these reports from the outside world. Even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared; he had no time to. He slept deeply at home until his phone rang the next morning.
William dazedly reached out, fumbled for the phone on his bedside table, and answered, "Hello..."
Gary's voice came from the other end. "Hello, William."
"Yeah," William mumbled, and then went silent.
"Hello? William, are you still there?"
"Yeah."
Gary glanced at his watch, which read 9:55. He said, exasperated, "It's almost ten o'clock, why are you still asleep? Were you out partying with a beautiful girl last night?"
William rolled over in bed. "What do you want, Gary? Otherwise, I'm hanging up."
"Okay, okay. Do you have time this afternoon? I've made an appointment with a few people. If you're free, come and meet everyone."
"Okay. Where?"
"I'll text the address to your phone. It's at 3 p.m., don't forget."
"Okay, bye."
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