Reborn with My Genius Husband-Chapter 111: Dormitory Conflict

"Yeah." Mortimer Quincy stroked her head, comforting her. "Don’t be afraid. I’ll handle it."

As he spoke, he gently tapped her on the head. "Why are you just putting up with it? You’ve got a husband to back you up."

Holly Winslow’s heart warmed, and she pouted. "I need to study hard and make progress every day. I can’t waste time on trivial matters."

"So my wife is a ’philosopher,’ huh?"

Mortimer Quincy pinched her pouting lips with his fingers and said softly, "Bring out that ’Fuck Mortimer Quincy’ energy."

Holly Winslow: "..."

’He’s never going to let that go.’

「After evening self-study, in the dorm room.」

Holly Winslow was the last one back to the dorm again. The atmosphere today was clearly different from usual, but she paid it no mind. Just as she was about to put down her books, Valerie Walsh called out to her. "Holly Winslow, are we bullying you? You’re the one who comes back to the dorm late every time. We can’t possibly wait for you."

Although she had a sweet, doll-like voice, anyone could tell her tone was nasty.

"I get back to the dorm twenty minutes after dinner. That’s more than enough time to clean."

Holly Winslow wasn’t one to shy away from trouble. She added, "For the first two weeks, you all came back to the dorm around the same time I did. I didn’t make a big deal out of it out of respect for us being classmates."

Valerie Walsh’s eyes started to well up with tears, her fair face a mask of grievance. "You never said where you wanted to clean. I thought you liked taking out the trash."

’To someone of Holly’s actual age, Valerie’s act was so clumsy it was almost laughable. She was at a loss for words.’

Jade Sullivan backed her up. "Exactly. You never said anything. What right do you have to say we’re bullying you?"

Lilian Upton chimed in, "We didn’t bully you at all."

At that moment, Holly Winslow really missed Anna Willow and Iris Kensington. At least they would be on her side.

She glanced at the trio, united against a common enemy, and asked calmly, "Then what do you call this?"

The atmosphere in the dorm room grew even more tense.

Luna Lynch’s gaze lifted from her book to the group. She suddenly spoke up, "From now on, we’ll rotate trash duty weekly, one person at a time. The bathroom is hard to clean, so let’s assign two people to it from now on."

She usually didn’t speak up much in the dorm, but she was on relatively good terms with her roommates. Evelyn Chaucer quickly agreed, "I’m with you. We’ll rotate from now on, one person at a time. Taking out the trash is a bit of a hassle; it’s a two-or-three-minute walk."

’Even though Holly Winslow came from Jarton Second High, she’s a really good person. She’s always patient when you ask her questions.’

’Most importantly, she’s very sincere with people.’

’Valerie Walsh might look sweet and well-behaved, but everyone in the dorm knows she looks down on people and has a superiority complex about her wealthy background.’

「Noon the next day」

While Holly Winslow was doing her homework, Gabe Chaucer called her out to the balcony for a talk. His tone was kind. "How have your studies been going lately?"

Holly Winslow nodded. "They’re okay."

Gabe Chaucer had an excellent impression of Holly Winslow, and all her subject teachers rated her highly as well. He asked with concern, "How are you getting along with your classmates?"

Holly Winslow understood that Gabe Chaucer knew about last night’s incident. She wasn’t surprised at how the news had spread. ’Once you’ve been a form teacher, you learn to have your own "informants."’ "Everyone’s getting along great," she said.

She had no idea it was because Mortimer Quincy had reported it to the school administration.

"That’s good. If anything comes up, you have to tell me. I’ll help you solve it."

Gabe Chaucer studied her for a few moments. Seeing that she seemed fine, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He spoke with her for a while longer about her schoolwork before letting her go back to the classroom.

After that, he called Valerie Walsh out for a talk, and not long after, he called out Mortimer Quincy as well.

Mortimer Quincy only came in after the midday nap. Holly Winslow unscrewed the cap of her pink water bottle and handed it to him, motioning for him to drink. "Are you okay? Next time, don’t get involved in things like this. I know how to handle them myself."

Mortimer Quincy took a sip, screwed the cap back on, and ruffled her hair. "How can a husband not get involved in his wife’s business?"

He paused for a moment. "Wife, I’m sorry you had to go through that."

"I wasn’t upset."

Holly Winslow replied coquettishly. She beamed, tugging on his sleeve. "Moira, I’ll treat you to pork ribs tonight."

When Mortimer Quincy heard that last part, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’I seriously want to crack open my wife’s head and see if there’s anything in there besides pork ribs.’

After the dorm room incident, the relationship between Holly Winslow and Valerie Walsh’s group completely froze over. But Holly didn’t care. After all, Valerie Walsh was no Anna Willow or Iris Kensington.

Pretty much everyone in the class knew what had happened by now. Some of the boys felt Mortimer Quincy had gone too far, especially since it involved a girl—and a very pretty one at that.

While Zeke Zane and Pantheon were in the bathroom, they overheard a few boys from their class discussing Mortimer Quincy, saying things like he was a bully with a bad temper.

Although Zeke Zane agreed that Mortimer Quincy had a bad temper, he also knew he never started trouble. "There’s a reason some people have bad grades," he commented, referring to the gossiping boys.

Pantheon added, "They’re blind."

’After this incident came to light,’ he thought, ’Valerie Walsh seems like... well, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but she definitely wasn’t a good person.’

’She was clearly the one bullying others, yet she acted like she was the victim.’

Gabe Chaucer was worried the incident might cast a shadow over Holly Winslow and affect her studies, so after some consideration, he called her guardian.

Wyatt Winslow received the call from Gabe Chaucer, and after learning what had happened, he came to the school that very day.

Holly Winslow was listening intently in class when, out of the corner of her eye, she happened to glance toward the classroom window. She froze for a second, then smiled at the person standing there.

Wyatt Winslow felt a little more at ease. He stepped away from the window to let her focus on her class.

After class, Holly Winslow ran out and called with a grin, "Dad, what are you doing here?"

"Why didn’t you call?" Wyatt Winslow’s expression was a little grim.

It took Holly a moment to realize what he was talking about. She chuckled. "Dad, it’s fine. Mortimer helped me solve it."

"Holly, don’t hide things from your dad." Wyatt Winslow pressed his lips together, then added, "Come back to Jarton Second High."

"Dad, I don’t want to go back. The learning atmosphere here is better than at Second High." Holly Winslow was telling the truth.

Wyatt Winslow was silent for a moment before yielding to her wishes. "Okay."

Class was about to start, so Holly Winslow went back inside. Wyatt Winslow went to the staff office, where Gabe Chaucer happened to have a free period.

The two talked for over half an hour before Wyatt Winslow left.

After that, Wyatt Winslow started calling Holly every afternoon or evening. Usually a man of few words, he began asking about her life at school.

Holly was happy to tell him about these things, and the generation gap between father and daughter narrowed a little more.

「When school let out on Friday」

Anna Willow and Iris Kensington showed up.

Holly Winslow was surprised, then delighted. "Anna, Ellie, what are you guys doing here? Don’t you have class?"

Iris Kensington chuckled. "We played sick to get out of class."

She eyed the people coming and going at the school gate, her tone indignant. "Holly, who bullied you? If I don’t teach her a lesson, my name isn’t Iris Kensington!"

Anna Willow nodded emphatically in agreement. "Who was it?"

"How did you guys know?" Holly Winslow was taken aback for a moment, but her thoughts quickly turned to Zeke Zane.

Anna Willow, a loyal friend who would never snitch, said, "Hey, how we found out isn’t important. What’s important is that you were bullied and didn’t even tell us! Hmph."