Reborn with My Genius Husband-Chapter 71: Holly Winslow’s First Love Letter

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Holly Winslow’s First Love Letter

When morning self-study ended, Holly Winslow had just taken out her pink lunchbox when Valerie Walsh, from the second row, called out to her. "Holly, let’s have breakfast together."

Pantheon chuckled, nudging Zeke Zane with his shoulder. ’This is gonna be good.’

Holly Winslow glanced at Mortimer Quincy. "No, thank you. I’m eating with my cousin."

Valerie Walsh smiled sweetly. "Come on, join us. It’s easier for girls to talk together." As she spoke, she came over to take Holly’s hand.

Holly: "..."

’I can’t just tell Valerie that Mortimer and I are a couple, can I?’ she thought. She opened her mouth, then closed it again.

Just then, Mortimer Quincy slung a long arm around Holly Winslow’s shoulders, his survival instincts on high alert. "Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll keep my Holly company."

His tone was both cool and swoon-worthy. Holly’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. She touched her nose, hiding a smile.

...

That morning, second period was chemistry lab. The chemistry teacher, May Hollis, knew the class had a new student. She looked at the group list for a few seconds, then said, "Holly Winslow, you can join Mortimer Quincy’s group. That way, all four groups will have two girls. Mortimer, you’re the group leader, so please take good care of Holly."

Zeke Zane and Pantheon: "..."

’Ms. Hollis, you’re going to regret this.’

Mortimer Quincy, who rarely spoke up, replied out of character, "Ms. Hollis, I’ll take good care of Holly."

May Hollis didn’t think anything was amiss and just smiled kindly. "The experiment we’ll be conducting today is the laboratory preparation of ammonia. We’ll focus on the reaction principle, collection, drying, and testing for fullness, and then use that as a basis for exploring its properties."

"This is from the first year of high school. I’m sure many of you have forgotten, so I’ll review it with you all..."

It was now the second semester of their second year, a good time to gradually review the material from previous years.

After lecturing for about ten minutes, May Hollis let the students begin the hands-on portion.

Mortimer Quincy rolled up his sleeves, then looked at Holly Winslow. "Do you know how?"

Having spent more than half a semester plus a winter break catching up on first-year material, Holly was familiar with most of it. She nodded. "In theory, yes."

"Give it a try."

Mortimer Quincy gave his spot to her. In past experiments, he had always been the one to do the work while the other students observed.

Holly nodded and got to work. Her face was set in concentration. Though her movements were a bit unpracticed, her steps were perfectly correct.

May Hollis stood nearby and watched for a while. When Holly finished, she praised her, "Not bad, Holly. Your procedure was completely correct."

Being praised by the teacher gave Holly a sense of satisfaction, and her eyes curved into smiling crescents.

The other boys in the group couldn’t help but steal a few more glances. Holly Winslow was really pretty, especially when she smiled.

Mortimer Quincy’s face fell instantly. ’What are you looking at? This is my wife.’

Just then, Valerie Walsh spoke up sweetly, "Can I try it once?"

As soon as Holly heard this, she stepped aside to make room for her.

Mortimer Quincy didn’t watch Valerie perform the experiment. Instead, he pulled Holly over to sit in two empty seats nearby. Valerie froze for a moment, then bit her lip.

The other boys in the group glanced at the pair. "..."

’The difference in treatment is so obvious.’

Mortimer ignored them. He handed a pen to Holly, the corner of his right eye twitching up. "Write out the formula for the experiment. If you get it right, I’ll give you a double reward."

Holly: "..."

’What kind of reward?’

’Kisses?’

"I don’t want your reward."

She shot him an annoyed glare, then took the pen and began to write out the chemical formula from memory: 2NH4Cl + Ca(OH)2 → 2NH3↑ + CaCl2 + 2H2O.

Seeing her puff out her cheeks, her face as round as an apple, Mortimer felt his throat tighten. He lowered his voice, "You don’t want it? But your hubby wants to give it to you." After a quick glance around the classroom, he planted a swift kiss on her cheek.

Holly: "..."

A dark line now streaked across the ’H’ on the paper.

Then, Mortimer’s voice came again, right by her ear. "I owe you the other one and a half."

’One and a half?’

Holly: "..."

’How could he even say something like that?’

...

At noon, Andre Quincy and Brooke Jarvis came to deliver Mortimer Quincy’s dorm supplies. When they heard Holly Winslow was also studying here now, they brought two large bags of snacks for her, piling them up in the space between her desk and Mortimer’s.

The distance between them, previously no more than 5 cm, was now a full 20 cm.

Mortimer was displeased all afternoon. After dinner, he helped Holly carry the snacks to her dorm entrance, and she put them away inside.

After evening self-study, there was a forty-minute activity period. Mortimer and Holly didn’t leave the classroom right away; Mortimer was going over the day’s math problems with her.

Pantheon had wanted to ask him to head back to the dorms together, but upon seeing the scene, he just slung an arm around Zeke Zane’s shoulder and left.

Twenty-five minutes later, the classroom was empty. Mortimer had also finished explaining the concepts. He set down his pen and suddenly pulled Holly into his arms. "Honey, kisses." Without giving her a chance to react, he leaned in and kissed her.

A few minutes later, the classroom lights went out. Another three or four minutes passed before a tall figure and a short one emerged from the room.

Holly made it back to her dorm with only a minute to spare. Valerie Walsh and the others glanced at her, their gazes ultimately landing on her lips.

They were red and swollen—a little unnaturally so.

"Holly, are your lips having an allergic reaction?" Valerie Walsh asked with concern.

Feeling guilty, Holly touched her nose. "Yeah, I just got bitten by a bug." With that, she put down her books and went to wash up.

...

「Friday」

Holly Winslow received her first love letter at Jarton High. As she pulled out a textbook for class, a pink envelope fell to the floor.

She didn’t register it at first, and by the time she moved to pick it up, a long, slender hand had already snatched it.

Mortimer Quincy looked at the pink letter, raised an eyebrow, and then opened it.

Holly, I’m Hank King from Class 7 of the second year. The first time I saw you, my heart skipped a beat. You’re as bright as a star in the sky, illuminating my heart.

Holly, I like you. Can I be your boyfriend? I’ll be waiting for your reply.

Mortimer scoffed unhappily. ’Boyfriend? A reply, is it?’

He tore the love letter to shreds on the spot, pulled out his demerit notebook, and wrote down Hank King’s name, deducting thirty points straight away.

Before Holly even had a chance to see what was written, he had already ripped it up. She looked at him, her face full of confusion. "What did it say?"

"Something unsightly."

Mortimer picked up the demerit notebook again. "I’m going to turn this in."

They were turned in once every week.

Just before school let out, Hank King was called out of his classroom by his homeroom teacher.

The teacher was furious. "Hank King, it’s only been a week and you’ve already lost all your conduct points—and then some! You’re five points in the negative! You’ve really got some nerve, harassing female students. You’re the only one in the whole school! On Monday, have your father come see me. You’re to go home and write a self-criticism essay, and you will read it in front of the entire school on Monday!"

The barrage of words left Hank King stunned. He weakly retorted, "Teacher, I didn’t harass any female students."

His teacher showed him the list of infractions: Not wearing school ID x1, Harassing a female student x10, Hair not up to standard x1.

Hank King: "..."

’I don’t even have to think about it. It was Mortimer Quincy again.’