I Married the President

With three votes against him, Cecily Taylor couldn’t insist any longer. No matter how much she liked the contestant, she couldn’t save him now. She relented, "Okay, I’ll go with the majority. Jensen, your final grade is F."

Jensen shot Claire Sinclair a resentful glance but said nothing, walking off the stage in silence.

The contestants who followed were all serious and enthusiastic, with few controversial performances. Consequently, Claire Sinclair’s screen time was pitifully scarce.

Claire Sinclair didn’t mind, though. She was quite moved hearing these kids talk about their dreams. This was exactly the kind of positive energy so many people lacked these days.

In the blink of an eye, most of the contestants had finished their performances, leaving only the final group.

The judges were exhausted, every one of them struggling to maintain a straight face, their gazes starting to drift.

Claire Sinclair was exhausted too, but she pushed herself to watch their performance all the way through.

When the results for the final group were announced, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, thinking they could finally go home and rest.

Cecily Taylor turned to Claire Sinclair. "Professor Sinclair, since this is your first time judging a talent show like this, why don’t you give us a summary of the contestants’ performances today?"

It was already past two in the morning. Never mind Claire Sinclair; even the contestants were so tired they were dozing off. Who had the mental energy for a summary?

Claire Sinclair knew the woman was deliberately putting her on the spot, but she wasn’t bothered. She offered a casual, off-the-cuff summary:

"Today’s performances had their highs and lows. I’m sure many of you are disappointed, but I want to tell you this: losing at the starting line isn’t the scary part. What’s scary is complacency and a refusal to improve.

Of course, if you feel the judging was unfair, do not resort to backstabbing. Your emotional intelligence is an invisible, sharp sword that will shape your future careers. I hope you all learn to wield that sword to win over those who look down on you. Thank you to everyone who treats themselves and others with kindness. You are all amazing."

Although her words were cryptic, the contestants who were feeling resentful instantly understood her subtext and broke into applause.

Cecily Taylor had assumed the woman was all style and no substance, just another pretty face chasing fame. She never expected her to be so diplomatic, managing to avoid offending anyone while winning the unanimous approval of the contestants. She couldn’t help but feel a flare of irritation.

But unfortunately for her, everyone was exhausted. Even if she was displeased, she had to bottle it up.

When filming for the day finally concluded, the judges left the grounds first. The contestants, however, still had other tasks to attend to.

When Claire Sinclair got back to her hotel, the first thing she did was take a shower and lie down.

Before going to sleep, she habitually checked her phone, logged into her messaging app, and saw several messages from a user named "Taylor’s Highway"—Cecily Taylor’s brother.

Taylor’s Highway: Reporter Sinclair, my restaurant has run into a bit of trouble recently. I was hoping you could write an article to help me clarify a few things.

Taylor’s Highway: I just renovated my restaurant, but some malicious people found rats and cockroaches from who-knows-where and planted them inside to scare off my customers and ruin my reputation. I’m at my wit’s end, which is why I’m turning to you.

Taylor’s Highway: Reporter Sinclair, you have to help me. I’ll pay whatever it takes.

’Tsk... Another one trying to buy a clean reputation.’

Having worked at the Astoria Daily for so long, how could Claire Sinclair not recognize the pattern?

People with shady backgrounds like his, once they ran into a PR crisis, would always find someone in the media, play the victim to garner sympathy, twist the truth, and then pay a fortune to have their image scrubbed clean.

Claire Sinclair found the whole practice despicable, but that didn’t mean she would simply ignore it.

Claire Sinclair took a screenshot of the messages, saved it to her phone, and sent it to Henry Hartwell.