After Divorce I Married a Tycoon-Chapter 181: Get Out of the Competition

Claire Mercer took the microphone from the host’s hand once again.

Throughout the entire process, she was unhurried and composed.

Whether in her eyes or her overall demeanor, there wasn’t a hint of panic or guilt.

"My design style is similar to Instructor CC’s, but that doesn’t mean I plagiarized her work."

"From the moment I entered the design industry, from my college days as a design major to this very stage today, every single design has been my own original work."

"Since Joel Jennings claims I plagiarized, he must present evidence to prove it."

After she spoke, her clear, bright eyes landed on Joel Jennings, who wore a smug, triumphant expression.

Seeing her so composed, without the slightest hint of guilt that a plagiarist should have, Joel Jennings sneered.

’Facing her downfall and still acting so tough.’

’Once she sees the materials I’ve gathered, we’ll see how tough she can act then.’

With that thought, he pulled a file he’d prepared before coming on stage from an inner pocket.

He opened the folder and presented to everyone the few design works by Instructor CC that he had managed to collect.

"These are a few pieces designed by Instructor CC that I’ve collected."

"Instructor CC has always been my role model, so even though she hasn’t produced many works..."

"...I’ve collected every piece she’s ever designed. I’ve even gone to great lengths to find her more obscure, niche designs."

"I want to learn from her, to become as outstanding as she is."

"Please, everyone, take a close look. Compare Claire Mercer’s designs with Instructor CC’s previous work. Aren’t they remarkably similar?"

As he spoke, he handed the design sketches he had collected to the judges at their table.

The judges took the documents from Joel Jennings and carefully compared them to Claire Mercer’s designs.

After passing the documents around and making their comparisons, the judges all turned to look at Claire Mercer.

The admiration and approval that had been in their eyes before were gone.

In their place was a hint of disappointment and disgust.

Seeing this expression on nearly all the judges’ faces, Joel Jennings discreetly allowed the corner of his mouth to curl into a slight smirk.

"Judges, I trust that after your comparison, you’ve reached a conclusion?"

After a brief exchange of glances with Joel Jennings, one of the male judges looked up at Claire Mercer.

"Claire Mercer, we’ve made the comparison. Your style isn’t merely *similar* to Instructor CC’s work; many of the details are practically identical."

"To be honest, I was a great admirer of yours. I truly believed you were destined to become the brightest new star in the world of design."

"But now, with the evidence right in front of us... I am deeply disappointed in you."

Although he didn’t explicitly state that Claire Mercer had plagiarized, his words amounted to the same thing.

Hearing the words of a professional judge, the audience naturally took it as confirmation that Claire Mercer had plagiarized.

The audience erupted in a storm of indignant accusations against Claire Mercer.

"Plagiarists are shameful! She doesn’t deserve to stay in the competition!"

"I knew it! How could someone so young be so skilled? It turns out she was just copying someone else’s work all along."

"I can’t believe I was a fan of a dirty plagiarist. I feel sick."

"Me too! I voted for her in every single round. I supported her all the way, and it turns out she’s just a shameless thief."

"Claire Mercer, get out of the competition! Get out of the design world!"

"That’s right, get out! She doesn’t deserve to be on this stage!"

"..."

The righteous indignation wasn’t confined to the live audience.

Viewers watching the live broadcast at home couldn’t help but flock online to post about it.

"I’ve been following Claire Mercer since the competition started. She’s beautiful and talented, and almost every piece she designed was exactly my style."

"And what’s the result? She plagiarized someone else’s work and had the nerve to present it in a competition."

"My genuine admiration for her has just made me a laughingstock."

"All the support I gave her, every word I said in her defense... it just makes me look like a clown."

Beneath this post, many netizens who had previously supported Claire Mercer began to leave comments.

They expressed how much they used to support and adore Claire Mercer...

...and how disappointed and disgusted they were now.

Meanwhile, netizens who had never liked Claire Mercer in the first place also flocked to comment.

"Clout chaser! Plagiarist dog! Get out of the competition! Get out of the design world!"

"It’s a disgrace to the design world to have such a shameless hack."

"Admired her, liked her, supported her... and now I’m just disappointed and disgusted. I must have been blind."

"Don’t feel bad, sweetie. You weren’t the only one who was blind."

Another netizen, jumping on the trending topic, immediately posted:

"I’ve never liked her. Ever since that first video where she exposed the Mercer Family for abusing her. I can’t stand people who air their family’s dirty laundry in public."

"So what if the Mercer parents treated her like a living blood bank for their son? They still raised her."

"The fact that she could send her parents to the police station and then denounce them online just shows what a cruel, ungrateful person she is. It proves my judgment of character is spot on."

Beneath that, the comments were a monolithic flood of insults, calling Claire Mercer a "plagiarist dog" and demanding she get out of the competition and the design world for good.

From Joel Jennings presenting the evidence to "prove" Claire Mercer’s plagiarism, to the male judge’s not-so-subtle confirmation—in the span of just a few minutes, the hashtag #ClaireMercerPlagiaristDog had exploded and was trending online.

However, a few of Claire Mercer’s more rational fans quickly posted in response.

"You can tell that Joel Jennings guy is bad news. Ever since he lost to Claire in their first face-off in the national finals, that cold, venomous glare he gave her... it still gives me chills just thinking about it."

"I’m not going to take the word of someone so petty and narrow-minded. I’ll reserve judgment."

"Besides, Claire hasn’t even responded yet. Shouldn’t we wait and see how this plays out before we jump to conclusions?"

"If Claire Mercer really did plagiarize, I’ll log off forever and delete my account."

"And if it turns out she was deliberately framed, then slandering Victor Sherman will also come at a price."

As soon as this post went up, some of Claire Mercer’s die-hard fans chimed in.

"If she really plagiarized, I’m logging off and deleting my account too."

"If she didn’t plagiarize, and some insidious villain set her up, then I’ll gladly be one of the snowflakes in the coming avalanche."

"I’ve been watching Claire Mercer this whole time. Based on the purity in her eyes and the way she interacts with the other contestants, I just don’t believe she would plagiarize."

"Waiting for the plot twist."

"..."

"Are Claire Mercer’s fans still trying to defend her? The evidence is right there in your face. What the fuck are you trying to whitewash?"

"A plagiarist has fans? Guess her fans are just like her—a bunch of shameless hacks."

"Maybe Claire Mercer’s fans are sponsored by bleach with how hard they’re trying to whitewash this."

"So, to them, Joel Jennings, the guy who exposed the plagiarism, is a ’petty, insidious villain.’ But Claire Mercer, the actual plagiarist, is some ’pure, innocent maiden’? That’s disgusting."

"I’m starting to suspect these so-called ’fans’ are just paid trolls Claire Mercer hired herself."

In less than ten minutes, the internet had descended into absolute chaos, a raging dumpster fire of arguments.