"Boss is so handsome."
"The head butler is also super good-looking!"
"When will you take us to a show too?"
...
That evening, as soon as the show aired, the work chat exploded.
The nickname "head butler" came after everyone found out Cynthia lived with William, drove him to and from work every day, and handled all the little things at the company. They started calling her that as a joke, and since Cynthia didn't mind, it gradually stuck.
Tina said, "Didn't think the boss looked that cool playing piano. Could it be that all the songs in Piano Tiles were recorded by him himself?"
On Blue Star, the type of idol people admired most was definitely an artist.
William's amazing performance won over not just the women in the studio. Online, William already had his own fan club, with people using his photo as their profile pictures and posting interview screenshots all over Weibo.
The sadder part was Cynthia, who was treated like an enemy by some of William's extreme female fans. They insulted her and tried to smear her.
Luckily, Cynthia's good looks earned her fans of her own, both men and women. Especially the CP fans, who became her strongest supporters.
Seeing his social media follower count shoot up by hundreds of thousands, William knew he had really gone viral. But the heat didn't stop there—someone uploaded a video of his charity dinner performance. Even though it wasn't the full version of "Castle in the Sky," they clipped the most moving part, raising people's view of his talent even higher.
A true master.
Rumor spread that the Piano Association wanted to invite William to serve as honorary president. Since its founding ten years ago, William was considered the number one pianist in the circle.
Thomas's phone call confirmed the rumor. As the association's broker, he personally invited William to take the role.
"Give me some time to think about it."
William wasn't sure if he could handle so many identities. Even if it was only honorary, he would still have to attend events. But the only thing he truly wanted to do was one thing—make games and build a gaming empire.
He called Tiffany. "Sorry for calling so late, but there's something I'd like to ask you."
Tiffany was clearly a bit surprised to get his call. "It's fine, I was just on my phone, hadn't gone to sleep yet."
"Good." William told her what Thomas had said and shared his concerns. "I'm worried that taking this position will affect my work."
"It will, for sure." Tiffany paused, then added, "But have you thought about this? If you chose the music path, you might end up even more successful than now."
"I know."
On Earth, the art scene wasn't as crazy as on Blue Star, but the classics there could stand up anywhere. Choosing music would definitely work. The problem was—it wasn't the road he wanted to take.
"But it's not what I want."
"Didn't you come to Riverdale in the first place to make your debut?" Tiffany, who knew Lisa well, obviously knew a little about William's dream.
William remembered that, so he casually made up a lie. "Maybe now I just find making games more interesting."
"Alright then." Tiffany didn't press. "If you don't mind, I can help manage things with the Piano Association. Of course, some events you'll have to attend yourself, but the rest you can leave to me."
William was tempted. He had been worrying about not having much contact with Tiffany—this could fix that!
"Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?"
"Not at all."
"What about the piano shop?"
"With your Aunt Lisa there, I don't have to worry at all. I was just looking for an excuse to give her a raise. If you need me, I'll promote her to store manager, and I can just sit back."
"Really?"
"Of course." Tiffany's tone was cheerful.
"Alright, I'll leave it to you then. I do want to build some connections."
William knew clearly that no matter how much money he made from games, he'd still just be an ordinary guy, only richer than most families. To truly change his social standing, he needed ties with the powerful. The honorary president role at the Piano Association would be a perfect stepping stone.
"Didn't think you had that kind of foresight."
In Tiffany's eyes, no matter how talented and mature William seemed, at the end of the day he was still just a young man fresh out of school. She didn't expect him to think this far ahead.
"Hehe, Cynthia taught me that." William shamelessly pushed the credit onto her.
"Cynthia?" Tiffany paused for a moment. "I saw your interview today. She seemed really close to you?"
"Privately, we're good friends too."
"I see, alright then. It's getting late, thank you… for letting me get back on this path again." Tiffany's tone carried a kind of emotion that was hard to put into words.
"Huh?" William froze, then quickly replied, "It should be me thanking you."
That night, the news of William becoming the honorary president of the Piano Association once again exploded across the internet. What people first thought was just a rumor turned out to be true. Tonight's Weibo felt like it existed just for one person—and that person was William.
Tina said, "I don't even know what to say anymore."
Claire said, "Same here. At first I was surprised, then fangirling, and now I'm numb. I'm starting to wonder if the boss is even the same person I knew before."
Angela said, "Am I really working in a game company?"
Marcus said, "Boss is awesome!"
Chris said, "Boss is awesome!"
Leon said, "Boss is awesome!"
Zach said, "Brother William, you're the best!"
As soon as he said that, the chat instantly filled with question marks.
Claire: "?"
Leon: "?"
Chris: "?"
Marcus: "?"
Angela: "?"
Tina: "?"
Cynthia: "?"
In real life, Cynthia, who was sitting on the couch, stared wide-eyed at William, as if she wanted to find something different in his expression.
William, however, wasn't nearly as dramatic. He calmly said, "That must've been Jenny."
Sure enough, a few seconds later Zach explained it—Jenny had sent the message using his phone. After watching William's interview, the little girl got so excited that she was jumping all over the house.
Because of that, William made a special call to Jenny and told her some funny details about the interview—like how many cameras were in the studio, or how Wendy over-curled her left eyelashes. Jenny laughed so hard she couldn't stop, and before long she was worn out and taken off to bed.
"William."
Before he could hang up, Aunt Lisa's voice came through.
"Aunt Lisa, how did I do?"
Maybe it was because he'd always been treated like a kid at Aunt Lisa's place, but William sounded a little childish when he asked.
"You were amazing, a perfect score."
"Really?" Hearing her praise, William couldn't help but smile. "At first I thought Wendy would hold a grudge, but I didn't expect her to help me so much."
The publicity from the interview was priceless. Normally, even if you spent money, you might not get that kind of exposure. And Wendy had come to him on her own—no money spent, no connections pulled—yet everything turned out perfectly, even better than expected.
"You're being too narrow-minded about her."
"True, I was judging her too harshly."
"But really, she did the interview for her own reasons too. There's no need to call it selfish or noble—you both just got what you wanted."
Cynthia said, "I'm heading upstairs."
"Oh, alright." William, still on the phone, answered.
Aunt Lisa asked, "Was that Cynthia's voice just now? Are you two living together?"
"We're just renting the place together, that's all."
"Oh."
"Well, if there's nothing else, I'll head upstairs too. Today was exhausting."
"Huh?"
Only then did William realize how his words sounded, so he explained, "I'm going up to the third floor. Cynthia lives on the second."
"If you want to come to the second floor, that's fine too. I'll leave the door open for you!" Cynthia shouted from the stairs, clearly enjoying stirring things up.
"No need!"
"Cough, cough, then you should rest early." Aunt Lisa said on the phone.
"Okay, goodbye."
"Mm, goodbye."