I Married the President

At these words, everyone turned to look at Claire Sinclair, confused.

’Claire Sinclair eliminated Owen Carson???’

’No way! Owen Carson is so talented!’

Mimi Fisher looked at Claire Sinclair as well and said politely, "Professor Sinclair, what’s your take on this?"

Claire Sinclair’s expression didn’t change as she spoke. "The evaluation of your character began the moment you joined this show. As for why you were eliminated on the spot, I believe you know full well what you did that others didn’t. Why was no one else eliminated? Your talent score was an A, yet I still marked you for elimination. Don’t you know why?"

Owen Carson was stunned by her questions, and his anger flared. He shot back, "I came here to prove my talent! You can’t sing, you can’t dance—what gives you the right to eliminate me?"

Claire Sinclair gave a cold smile. "On what grounds? On the grounds that I have eyes to tell right from wrong. On the grounds that I hold the scales of fairness and justice. On the grounds that I represent the voice of the public. But most importantly, on the grounds that I am your mentor. If you can’t even respect your teachers, and we let you into the entertainment industry, wouldn’t you just run wild?"

In a fit of pique, Owen Carson shot back again, "How I handle my career in the entertainment industry is my business. What gives you the right to meddle?!"

Claire Sinclair desperately wanted to roll her eyes, but it would look undignified on camera, so she restrained herself. She maintained her composure and said, "Of course, I can’t control your future path in the entertainment industry. However, I don’t believe you’ll have that chance anymore. The police are waiting for you right outside the door. You should go."

"What did you say?" Hearing the word "police," Owen Carson instantly panicked.

Claire Sinclair’s lips curled into a deceptively innocent smile. "Owen Carson, do you understand why I eliminated you now?"

Owen Carson lowered his head and finally fell silent.

After Owen Carson left the hall, Claire Sinclair picked up her microphone again. She looked up at the remaining contestants and said, "Let this be a reminder to all of you: never cross the line with the law. Otherwise, your fate will be the same as Owen Carson’s. As for what he did wrong, you can look it up online when you get your phones back."

With that, she put down the microphone.

For a moment, everyone was silent. No one said a word.

Mimi Fisher broke the silence, reading out the next contestant’s name...

-

The results for the first round of evaluations were all out. The contestants held their report cards, their feelings a complicated mix.

Cecily Taylor was very curious about what the contestants’ report cards looked like, so she walked over to take a look at the one belonging to her favorite contestant, Jensen.

Jensen’s talent score was an A, but his character score was only a C.

Seeing this score, Cecily Taylor was completely baffled. She returned to the judges’ panel and asked Claire Sinclair, "Professor Sinclair, what are your criteria for grading the contestants? I don’t understand."

Mimi Fisher and Master also looked at her, their curiosity piqued.

Claire Sinclair smiled. "Rest assured, I am absolutely not grading based on personal preference. The production team provided me with a set of evaluation criteria, and I’m scoring strictly according to those standards."

"What criteria? And why weren’t we told about them?" Cecily Taylor asked, her tone suspicious.

"You can ask the director about that. I signed an NDA, so I can’t tell you what the criteria are."

Hearing this, Cecily Taylor was not pleased. "So you’re saying that if the three of us pick nine outstanding members, you could suddenly eliminate them, and we wouldn’t even know the reason why?"