novelraw Chapter 161: Holly Winslow Catches a Cheater
Chapter 161: Holly Winslow Catches a Cheater
Holly Winslow carried her New Year’s gift back to her bedroom. Glancing out the window, she watched the car gradually leave the village and huffed softly, "Jerk."
At 5:20 on New Year’s morning, Mortimer Quincy made a post: *The nth year, with many more to come. Happy New Year.*
He attached a picture—the same one Holly Winslow had taken.
Zeke Zane, who had been gaming all night, began to suspect he was fated to be force-fed PDA. How else could he be the first to witness Mortimer Quincy’s public display of affection at this ungodly hour?
"Fuck."
For some reason, he was reminded of his chat history with Anna Willow.
He’d finally worked up the nerve to send someone a "Happy New Year" message on his own initiative. *Ahem.* In the past, he’d always thought this kind of thing was incredibly lame.
Anna Willow replied a few minutes later: *Rookie, this mass text has zero finesse. You could’ve at least added an emoji or two. It’s so lifeless.*
Such disdain.
He: ...
He explained, *It wasn’t a mass text. I sent it just to you.*
Anna Willow: *Oh. Well, it looked like a mass text. Anyway, I’m going to set off some fireworks. Bye.*
Comparisons are just painful.
’I should just go back to my game.’
A little after nine in the morning, Holly Winslow saw Mortimer Quincy’s post after she’d finished breakfast. She hummed in satisfaction twice.
Like.
Then she posted a status of her own: *One thing’s for sure: my future is you. Happy New Year. —XBLG.*
The picture was of her and Mortimer Quincy’s backs on the school balcony. It was a bit dark, so you could only make out that it was a guy and a girl.
Wyatt Winslow didn’t have many social media contacts—only a couple of people. He had just seen Mortimer Quincy’s post, and now he was seeing Holly Winslow’s. He pursed his lips out of habit, then quickly set down his phone and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
’This is painful to watch.’
’From his experienced perspective, it was like watching immature kids make promises to each other.’
’A little childish and unrealistic.’
But he didn’t know how he could bring himself to lecture the two of them.
Holly Winslow’s post made it obvious she was in a relationship. It drew comments from most of her QQ contacts, leaving only a select few silent.
Anna Willow: *Wishing you two forever!* [Rose emoji] [Rose emoji]
Iris Kensington: *Wishing you two forever and ever! Holly, you know what I mean.* [Smirking emoji]
Beau Sullivan: *You’re dating someone?* [Shocked emoji]
Everyone else was asking who the guy was.
Holly Winslow only replied to Beau Sullivan: *Yep.*
She then put down her phone and suddenly hugged Wyatt Winslow, who was still nursing his headache. Beaming, she wheedled, "Dad, Happy New Year! Red envelope, please!"
As a father, he couldn’t help but feel a little dejected seeing his daughter professing her feelings for another boy. But with her hug, that feeling vanished from Wyatt Winslow. "Okay."
Holly Winslow received three red envelopes, which made four including Mortimer Quincy’s. This time, Wyatt Winslow’s contained three thousand.
Her personal savings had grown by another ten thousand.
She couldn’t help but marvel at how her wallet bulged every New Year.
Before long, Mortimer Quincy sent her a photo. It was a picture of him by himself, wearing the clothes she had bought him.
*Wifey, I’m wearing the red underwear. It’s a little tight.*
Holly Winslow: ...
She refused to admit it was her fault. *You’re just too big. Time to go on a diet.*
Mortimer Quincy: *A workout for two is the best way to lose weight. When are you going to join me, wifey?*
Holly Winslow: ...
Just then, a message popped up. It was from Xavier Jennings.
*U there?*
Holly Winslow: *Yeah.*
Xavier Jennings: *Happy New Year.*
*You’re dating someone?*
Holly Winslow: *You too.*
*Yeah. My boyfriend’s from Jarton High.*
Xavier Jennings didn’t reply after that.
The first day of the Lunar New Year passed. On the afternoon of the second day, Wyatt Winslow took Holly home, as classes were starting on the third.
...
Holly Winslow was actually quite secure about Mortimer Quincy; she knew he generally had an "aversion" to other girls. So when she saw him talking to a girl at her desk, looking quite friendly...
A wave of jealousy washed over her.
’No wonder he wasn’t answering my texts. He was busy talking to some girl.’
Carrying her things, she walked over. Without even looking up, she said to the girl, "Excuse me, but this is my seat." As she spoke, she shot Mortimer Quincy a death glare.
’Quincy the Puppy, you are so dead.’
The girl was clearly taken aback, but Mortimer Quincy just let out a low chuckle. He reached out to take the things from Holly’s hands. Seeing her still giving him the death glare, he couldn’t hold back a smile. "Holly," he said, making the introduction, "this is my older cousin, Cynthia Owens."
Hearing the name "Cynthia Owens," the fuming Holly suddenly deflated. She looked up at the girl. Her skin was a bit sallow, she had a small, squarish face and monolids, and she was about Holly’s height, around 165 cm.
She wasn’t pretty, but she wasn’t ugly either.
She remembered his older cousin having an oval face, double eyelids, and fair skin—a stunning beauty you couldn’t forget after a single glance.
’Even if she’d had some work done, she couldn’t have turned into a completely different person, could she?’
She was stunned, for a moment unable to believe it.
’*Ahem.* I’m suddenly curious about which plastic surgeon she went to.’
Cynthia Owens glanced at Holly a few times, then looked at Mortimer Quincy. "Your girl is pretty cute. You’ve got good taste."
After saying that, she left.
Looking at his still stunned and disbelieving wifey, Mortimer Quincy couldn’t help but tease her. "You were so mad just now, I almost thought I’d actually cheated on you."
Holly Winslow wasn’t about to admit she was that petty. "Don’t flatter yourself. I’m just loud."
"Oh~" Mortimer Quincy’s expression was clearly skeptical, the smile at the corner of his lips impossible to conceal. "Holly, be ’fierce’ for me again. It’s actually really cute."
Holly Winslow "fiercely" bared her teeth at him before starting to organize her desk. "Why is your cousin here at Jarton High? Wasn’t she at No. 1 High?"
"Mhm, she’s here as a visiting student."
Mortimer Quincy ruffled Holly Winslow’s hair. "You’d better step up your game. Your spot as second in the grade isn’t safe anymore."
Although Cynthia Owens’s grades were a little worse than Mortimer Quincy’s, they were still considered excellent.
She was consistently ranked first at No. 1 High. On the last final exam, she scored a 739, over ten points higher than Holly Winslow.
Holly Winslow hadn’t met Cynthia Owens many times, but she recalled that whenever anyone in the Quincy family mentioned her, they spoke of an incredible career woman. By twenty-seven or twenty-eight, she would be a director at a major company with an annual salary in the millions.
She knew her own limits. "I’m fine with third place."
"Such ambition," Mortimer Quincy said with a laugh, pinching the tip of her nose. "You have Scholar Quincy for a husband, and you’re still afraid you can’t beat my cousin? Don’t be scared. Rise to the challenge!"
Holly Winslow shook her head back and forth. "No rising happening here."
For the final semester, No. 1, No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 High all sent visiting students over.
Aside from Cynthia Owens, they were all boys.
Class Eight went from forty students to forty-four. During the evening self-study session, Gabe Chaucer rearranged the seats according to grades.
Mortimer Quincy was first, so he chose his old seat. Cynthia Owens was second and chose a seat in the third row of the middle section.
"Whoa."
All the boys in the Rocket Class were astonished; they hadn’t expected this girl to be so incredible.
Holly Winslow was third. She didn’t even have to choose her seat—it was obviously the one next to Scholar Quincy.
The seating chart didn’t change much. Other than Cynthia Owens, the three boys from the other schools were at the bottom of the Rocket Class rankings and took the originally empty seats in the back.
After everyone was seated, Gabe Chaucer said a few things and left. Pantheon suddenly whipped his head around. "Cousin, I remember you scored in the 720s. That girl scored even higher than you. I bet she was in the 730s."
At this, he glanced over at the plain-looking girl and remarked with simple awe, "She’s average-looking, but her grades are out of this world."
Mortimer Quincy’s eyes narrowed. "And you’re far below average."