Mortimer Quincy glanced at the petite figure in the kitchen. She seemed quite good at winning over Brooke Jarvis and Andre Quincy.
In her past life, the very first time Brooke Jarvis met Holly Winslow, she had given her a bank card.
He chalked it up to her having a charming face.
"I have money."
He had saved a lot of New Year's money since he was a child, and he also owned a few commercial properties that brought in several thousand a month in rent.
Andre Quincy knew this, so he didn't press the issue. After that, the two of them fell silent.
Just then, a phone rang. Holly Winslow quickly wiped her hands and answered. "Ellie, wait for me downstairs for a bit. I'll be right back."
After hanging up, she said apologetically, "Aunt Quincy, something came up, so I have to head back now."
"Okay, Moira can walk Holly home," Brooke Jarvis said, turning to Mortimer Quincy on the sofa.
"There's no need, Mom. I can go back by myself." Realizing she had called her "Mom" again, Holly Winslow's expression grew awkward. "Aunt Quincy."
Brooke Jarvis chuckled, unconcerned. "Just call me whatever feels natural, Holly."
Holly Winslow was mortified. She really hadn't meant to call her "Mom."
Mortimer Quincy had already walked over and was looking at Holly Winslow with a smile.
Holly Winslow shot him a subtle glare. 'I knew you'd just enjoy the show.' "You don't have to walk me. Iris Kensington is waiting for me downstairs. I'll go to school with her later."
...
Downstairs, Iris Kensington was waiting with a large backpack on and a big bag in her hand. Seeing Holly Winslow run over from inside the complex, she asked, "Holly, where'd you go?"
"I went to my cousin's place for a meal," Holly Winslow said, catching her breath. She helped Iris by taking one of the bags.
The two of them headed up the stairs.
"Your cousin lives here too? How come you never mentioned it before?"
"He just moved in recently."
"That explains it. I was wondering how you suddenly got a cousin. Holly, my mom packed some canned goods for me. I'll give you one when we get back to school."
"Okay."
Holly Winslow had already packed her things early in the morning. She glanced at the items Mortimer Quincy had brought over, which were mostly fruit. She put what she could in the refrigerator and decided to take the rest to school to eat.
Since they both had a lot of stuff, they hailed an Antelope cab after leaving the complex, paying two-fifty each.
They first went back to the school dorm to drop off their things, then went out the school gate to buy some clips.
As long as it wasn't past six in the evening, they could freely enter and exit the school gates.
While Iris Kensington was picking out clips, Holly Winslow answered a call from Mortimer Quincy. "Hello."
"Where are you?"
"I'm at school."
"Okay. Study hard, wifey."
Holly Winslow's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. She glanced at Iris Kensington, then covered her mouth and whispered, "You too, hubby."
"Holly! Who are you talking to?" Iris Kensington asked, walking over.
Startled and feeling guilty, Holly Winslow quickly ended the call. "My cousin."
"Oh," Iris Kensington said, waggling her eyebrows. "The way you were smiling just now, Holly, I thought you were in a relationship."
'It's not a relationship, we're already married.'
Holly Winslow laughed and gave her a light pat. "Who would I be in a relationship with? You?"
Iris Kensington giggled. She held up two hair clips. "Holly, which one looks better?"
"The silver one," Holly Winslow pointed.
...
「6:00 PM」
The self-study period began. Sunday evening study hall was usually for students to rush and finish their homework.
Anna Willow and Iris Kensington automatically skipped over Holly Winslow, found someone else to borrow homework from, and began to "learn from it" with their heads down. Holly Winslow glanced at the two of them, then took out her textbooks to review and prepare for the next day's lessons.
After a while with no movement from Holly Winslow, Anna Willow glanced at her. "Holly, aren't you going to copy the homework?"
Iris Kensington, who was sitting behind her, leaned forward to look at her desk, thinking she hadn't managed to borrow any homework to copy. "Holly, just give me two minutes. I'm almost done copying."
"It's fine, I'm already done," Holly Winslow said, looking at the two of them with amusement.
Anna Willow and Iris Kensington both exclaimed, "Huh?" finding it unbelievable.
Anna Willow asked doubtfully, "Holly, you actually know how to do it?"
Holly Winslow: "..."
"No, my cousin taught me."
"Holly, you can't seem to go three sentences without mentioning your cousin now," Iris Kensington said with a grin as she continued to copy the homework.
Anna Willow looked back at her and teased, "You just don't get it. It's the charm of a handsome guy. Sigh, I wish I had a handsome cousin to help me with my homework too."
"Anna, if your brother heard you say that, he'd definitely beat you up," Iris Kensington laughed.
Anna Willow's brother was also a student at Jarton Second High, a senior.
Their conversation caught the attention of the class monitor, Sean Hayes. "Iris Kensington, Anna Willow, Holly Winslow. No talking."
Holly Winslow: "..."
'Class monitor, did you forget to clean your glasses?'
Anna Willow and Iris Kensington immediately ducked their heads and went back to burying themselves in their homework copying.
The next two study periods were quiet. By the time they returned to the dorm, it was already nine o'clock.
After washing up, Holly Winslow returned to her top bunk, took out a book, and started reading.
Down below, Iris Kensington nudged Anna Willow, motioning for her to look at Holly Winslow. She whispered, "Did something happen to Holly?"
"Maybe it's because Teacher Sheffield yelled at her. She's probably holding it in and wants to prove a point," Anna Willow said, taking a bite of an apple.
On the bed, Holly Winslow felt her phone vibrate. She quickly ducked under the covers and answered in a hushed voice, "Hello."
"What are you doing?"
"Reading."
"Don't read for too long, it's bad for your eyes."
"I know."
...
"Good night, wife."
"Good night, husband."
Just as Holly Winslow hung up, the lights went out. She turned on her reading lamp, pulled her bed curtain closed, and continued to read. The curtain would keep the light from disturbing anyone else's sleep.
There was one other person in the dorm room who was also reading. Her name was Mina Shaw, a quiet girl who didn't talk much but had excellent grades, ranking in the top ten of their year.
At eleven o'clock, Mina Shaw turned off her light to go to sleep. Noticing a faint glow still in the room, she glanced in Holly Winslow's direction.
...
Waking up at 6:40, Holly Winslow yawned. 'Good thing I used to be a head teacher; I'm already used to these hours.'
As she was about to go downstairs, someone suddenly put a hand on her shoulder. It was a boy, not very good-looking, with a face full of acne and his jacket slung loosely over his shoulders.
He raised his eyebrows, thinking he was being handsome and cool. "Holly Winslow, be my girlfriend."
'A school punk, by the looks of it.'
Holly Winslow pushed his hand away and said unhappily, "Get lost."
Anna Willow and Iris Kensington quickly flanked her protectively. Iris Kensington said fiercely, "What's wrong with you? Getting handsy with a girl, you have no manners."
"The fuck did you say? Say that again!" The boy was enraged. He raised his fist as if to punch them, but then seemed to think better of it and didn't dare to strike.
Hearing this, Anna Willow immediately put her hands on her hips and cursed back, "Fuck you, you little piece of trash! You're ugly enough as it is, and you're still causing trouble! With a face full of zits, you want to be Holly Winslow's boyfriend? Pfft!"
Iris Kensington rolled her eyes at him. "Exactly! A toad lusting after a swan. You freak!!!"
Holly Winslow, after all, had the mind of a twenty-seven or twenty-eight-year-old. She had long since given up cursing back when she was a head teacher.
Seeing the boy clench his fists in anger, she quickly pulled Iris Kensington and Anna Willow behind her, then stared at his pimply face. "I refuse. You're so ugly."
...
On the way back to the classroom, Anna Willow and Iris Kensington couldn't help but burst out laughing. "That was hilarious."
"Holly, you're really something else. You even busted out English!"
"You two are still laughing? Weren't you afraid he'd hit you?" Holly Winslow said, feeling both exasperated and touched.
'Only high school friendships could be this pure, this reckless.'
"What's there to be afraid of? If he dares to hit me, I'll have my brother beat him up," Anna Willow said, shaking her small fist.
"Exactly. If he dares to hit me, I'll go home and tell my dad to have him arrested," Iris Kensington added with a giggle.
Iris Kensington's father was a police officer at the local station.