Slam Magazine Cover Figure

"Hey, buddy. I must say you've picked the right guy. He's the biggest hero of tonight's victory," Scott turned to the intern reporter Richmond and said.

This clearly left Richmond momentarily stunned: Stanford actually won? No wonder all the USC players refused interviews just now.

"This guy is truly someone worth promoting. Just three days ago, our coach said he wouldn't be on the roster for next season, but today he exploded," Scott, like a chatterbox, kept praising his brother. "He's the best passer I've ever seen, and he's also the smartest player I've ever met. He got into Harvard before he was even seventeen. You have to write about him."

"Oh, and he's also one of the founders of Facebook. Do you think there's a better NCAA player in the world?" Scott finished his speech.

Richmond was instantly dumbfounded. This was practically an outline for a legendary story interview. A player abandoned by the coach became the savior of the game, and his identity as a super scholar was also one of the founders of the most famous social networking site among college students. My God! This was definitely a super star whose publication would explode with public opinion. Did God actually hear my sincere prayers last night? Was I going to be officially confirmed with this interview report, and step into the pinnacle of life, becoming a legendary sports journalist?

Hey! Hey! Hey!

Li Zhen woke up the journalist who was looking up with a silly smile. "Are we doing the interview here?"

"No, no, no. I'll treat you guys to coffee. Let's go to the restaurant outside for the interview," Richmond generously suggested, even though he had only recently graduated and didn't have much money. But with such a high-profile interviewee right in front of him, he couldn't care too much about that.

Gurgle! Gurgle!

Li Zhen's stomach happened to make a noise.

So, they returned to the familiar fast food restaurant, and Li Zhen ordered five Big Macs again. Interestingly, he sat in the same spot he had sat in before the game, while Richmond sat in the seat where Kevin George had sat.

Though they called it an interview, it was actually the three of them watching Li Zhen wolf down his food.

Most of the interview content was provided by Scott, who spoke vividly, with Thompson adding some remarks. Li Zhen's role was to confirm and slightly correct their exaggerations.

For example, when Scott emphasized Li Zhen's speed, saying, "He's the fastest player I've ever seen. What I see in him is shades of Iverson."

Li Zhen corrected it to: "I'm not as fast as Iverson. If Iverson's speed is a 92, I'm around 80."

As a science major, Bruce was very precise.

For example, when Thompson emphasized, "Yesterday, he effortlessly outperformed his competitors within the team, not even breaking a sweat."

He corrected it to: "I did break a little sweat. It wasn't entirely effortless, I used about forty percent of my strength."

"Pruitt wasn't even his match. Although Pruitt knocked him down twice, he... completely dominated the field against him. Passing Pruitt was as easy as crossing a morning street..."

Before Scott could finish his sentence, Li Zhen corrected: "Pruitt is still a bit better than me in individual skills. His aggressiveness didn't kick in today. Also, he wasn't in his best form today. Anyway, I have to thank him for the physical confrontation. Because I'm a player who gets stronger when faced with setbacks."

Finally, they discussed academic background.

In this regard, Li Zhen didn't correct anything.

Because Li Zhen was even more accomplished than what they said. In the realm of knowledge, Scott and Thompson were like rural folks who imagined the emperor eating two steamed buns every day. (T/N: What does this mean?)

Li Zhen didn't bother to correct this either. After all, there was nothing much to boast about a perfect ACT score of 36. For a scholar like him, finding a point of deduction was harder than spotting the Jade Rabbit on the moon with the naked eye.

But then again, that's how prodigies are.

Finally, Richmond asked about the recently popular social networking site on campuses. Li Zhen kept it low-key, "That was back in 2004 when I just entered Harvard. I participated in some web development at the call of my good friend Dustin, but my actual contribution was very small, even negligible. Then, when the website faced operational difficulties, I used some of my savings as investment. I haven't even gone through the equity documents carefully, anyway, I've handed over my voting rights to Mark to manage."

Richmond then talked extensively about Facebook's recent financing. He believed that the website would be very successful in the future because it captured the hearts of young people, and he was a heavy user himself.

The interview lasted about half an hour. Before it ended, Bruce took the opportunity to go to the restroom and settled the bill.

This made Richmond very grateful. He thought to himself, "This guy is really a good person."

But in reality, Li Zhen felt very embarrassed. He had eaten so much, and if he let someone else pay again, he would feel embarrassed.

With a happy mood, Richmond went to his hotel.

Then he went online to search for highlights of the game. He was amazed by the astonishing creativity and super speed that Bruce displayed in this game. He felt his blood boiling when he saw Bruce's toughness against Pruitt.

Bruce was truly a rare gem of a boy.

"I must make him the focus of everyone's attention," Richmond vowed.

Then he started to use all his talents, quickly writing down "Stanford's Little Lightning, the New Era's Bruce Lee, the NCAA Superhero You Didn't Know!" on his computer. When he finished typing the last punctuation mark, he even thought he had written the beginning of a legendary story.

This guy was more likable than any male lead in any Hollywood movie.

He couldn't help but search for a few photos of Stanford's number 10 player online. They were so handsome that they were suffocating. He pasted them into Word, and quickly sent them to the editor-in-chief's email.

In less than ten minutes, the editor-in-chief replied: "Damn it, where did you come up with this story? Is this true?"

"Oh, buddy, this is absolutely one hundred percent true. You can go online and search for today's game. There's a complete video right under the official channel of Time Warner TV. This is Stanford's number 10 player, and he's just that legendary!"

About ten minutes later, Editor Grant replied: "Alright, kid. This article has been selected as the front-page headline of this year's NCAA special edition. Hopefully, he won't cause our sales to plummet. After all, LaMarcus Aldridge, Tyrus Thomas and other popular rookies are what everyone is focusing on."

...

At this moment, sitting on the team bus, Li Zhen had no idea that he had become the cover figure of the second largest sports magazine in the United States, with considerable influence even though it was an NCAA special edition.