Reborn with My Genius Husband

Chapter 183: High-Value Top-Scoring Couple

After checking their scores, Holly Winslow and her friends were ready to leave, so they let Julian Carlton know.

Julian Carlton was still busy and couldn’t talk for long. He just nodded and said, "Holly, once you’ve talked it over with your family, come back to the school to fill out your application. The teachers can give you some more advice."

You can’t let a single point from the college entrance exam go to waste.

Holly Winslow nodded.

After dropping off Anna Willow and Iris Kensington, it was already past 11:00 PM when Holly Winslow and Mortimer Quincy got back to her place.

Downstairs, Holly figured Andre Quincy and Brooke Jarvis weren’t home. She looked at Mortimer Quincy with a grin and said, "Why don’t you come up to my place for dinner?"

"Aren’t you afraid of your dad?" Mortimer Quincy asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Holly Winslow shook her head smugly. "I’m not afraid. If Dad’s going to hit anyone, it’ll be you."

Mortimer Quincy laughed, amused. He reached out and pinched her nose. "You little heartless thing."

Wyatt Winslow was already cooking. When he heard the door open, he glanced out. He didn’t say anything upon seeing Mortimer Quincy, just, "There are snacks on the table."

Then he went back to cooking.

Holly changed into her slippers, grabbed a pair for Mortimer, then ran into the kitchen. "Dad, come on, praise me!"

"Good job," Wyatt Winslow said, his praise concise.

Seeing the feast he was preparing, Holly understood this was his way of showing how proud he was. She said affectionately, "Thanks, Dad. I wouldn’t be where I am today without you."

Wyatt Winslow paused for a moment, then pursed his lips. "That was your own hard work."

"That’s not true! It’s because you worked so hard to earn money and put me through school." Holly reached out, grabbed a couple of cucumber chunks, and popped one in her mouth.

Wyatt Winslow chided her disapprovingly, "Be careful, you’ll get an upset stomach."

"Just one more piece."

Holly took the other piece of cucumber out and held it up to Mortimer Quincy’s mouth, teasing, "I didn’t wash my hands."

Mortimer Quincy raised an eyebrow and ate it from her hand. After swallowing, he said, "I’m not that particular. Besides, I’ve already ’eaten’ you before."

Holly Winslow was utterly defeated. "..."

After lunch, Mortimer Quincy and Holly Winslow headed to Jarton High. The afternoon slump hit hard, and Holly fell asleep in the car.

Mortimer didn’t wake her. He just found a place to park and let her sleep.

Her head was tilted, gradually sliding down. A small smile played on his lips as he reached out to support her head.

A few minutes later, Holly’s phone suddenly rang. Just as Mortimer was about to grab it, Holly jerked awake, her forehead slamming right into his lips. He let out a muffled groan.

When Holly realized what had happened, she asked nervously, "Babe, are you okay?" She leaned in close to see if she’d cut his lip.

With her offering herself up like that, Mortimer wasn’t about to be polite. He lowered his head and captured her soft lips.

...

They lingered near the school gate for over half an hour before finally heading to Gabe Chaucer’s office.

Gabe Chaucer was in the middle of giving a few students advice on their university applications. When he saw the two of them, he quickly waved them in. "There you are. I’ve been waiting for you."

He told the other students to wait for a bit and then led the pair to the principal’s office.

There were quite a few people in the principal’s office, including the university recruiter Mortimer had seen that morning. There were even photographers on the side.

The principal beckoned them in with a friendly smile and made the introductions. "Mortimer, Holly, come on in. These are the recruiters from Branton University, Queensbridge University, and Fenton University."

The two of them offered a polite greeting.

The principal then began to praise them to the other recruiters. "These two cousins have always had excellent grades. They’re model students here at Jarton High; their photos are on our honors board every month."

The middle-aged man in the white shirt, the recruiter from Queensbridge University, chimed in, "Your school is quite impressive. Not only did you produce the top scorer in the science track, but you also took half of the city’s top ten spots."

The principal tried to remain modest, but he couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from turning up. "It’s all thanks to the students’ hard work."

After a few more pleasantries, they got down to business.

The fight for the students.

The recruiter from Branton University started his pitch. "We’re ranked number one in the country at Branton, and our professors are all world-renowned. You two cousins should really consider us. Even if you’re not sure, that’s fine. I can arrange a campus tour for you first."

The recruiter from Queensbridge University quickly cut in, "Queensbridge may not be number one, but our graduate employment rate is higher than theirs. You two should consider our school."

"We’ll offer a full tuition waiver."

’The whole scene made it look like these top-tier universities were some third-rate schools desperate for students.’

Holly thought back to her past life. With the score she’d gotten then, even vocational colleges had been reluctant to accept her. If Wyatt Winslow hadn’t slipped them some money, she probably wouldn’t have gotten in at all.

"That’s not right," Mortimer Quincy said, shaking his head.

His sudden correction caught everyone off guard. Mortimer then continued, "She’s not my cousin. She’s my girlfriend."

Holly: "..."

’Didn’t he see the two cameras set up on tripods? Does he want to be tomorrow’s headline?’

She instinctively tried to shrink down and hide her face.

The room was silent for a good ten seconds. "..."

The principal, who had been operating under the "cousin" assumption for over a year, heard this, and his brain simply stalled.

’What did he just say?’

’Girlfriend?’

He shot a questioning look at Gabe Chaucer, who simply pushed up his glasses, his expression clearly saying, ’I have no idea.’

The eyes of the two recruiters from Queensbridge University lit up. ’They’re a couple! Well now, their scores are set. We can ’reel’ them both in together.’

One of the recruiters chuckled. "Well, that’s perfect! You can both enroll at our university. We even give course credit for getting married."

Holly: "..."

’Is this the difference between high school and college?’

Not to be outdone, the recruiter from Branton University declared, "Our school gives credit, too! You get credit for having kids... ahem, no, I mean, you get a certain stipend for having a child."

Holly: "..."

’She felt like her and Mortimer’s baby was going to be born in the next second.’

The principal didn’t want the recruiters to keep pressuring the cousins—no, the couple—so he amiably asked someone to take them to rest for a bit.

He wanted to understand Mortimer and Holly’s intentions first.

He looked at the two of them and fell silent again. The shock was clearly significant. "..."

"You two are certainly bold, dating in high school right under the noses of all of us principals and teachers."

Holly rubbed her nose sheepishly. Mortimer remained as calm as ever.

The principal had a whole long-winded lecture on the prohibition of high school dating ready to go, but then he remembered they had already graduated. He no longer had any standing to say it, so he swallowed his words.

He remembered the old days when he was the dean of students, famous for cracking down on student relationships. He’d never failed to catch a couple, earning him the nickname "Slade Kensington" from the students.

Slade Kensington had missed one.

"Dating in high school isn’t a big deal. Don’t be nervous. It’s not like I can deduct points from your exam scores."

Beside them, the corner of Gabe Chaucer’s mouth twitched. He raised a hand to adjust his glasses, hiding his expression.

’Principal, are you sure deducting points would even be useful at this stage?’

’Deducting a thousand points wouldn’t do a damn thing now.’

Holly stifled a laugh.

The principal, of course, noticed. "Go ahead and laugh if you want to," he said kindly. "I don’t bite."

...

The next day, Mortimer Quincy made the headlines. So did Holly.

In the same news story.

"G-City’s Gorgeous Genius Couple: He’s the Top Scorer in Science, She’s Ranked Fifth in the City..."

In just half a day, the story shot to the top of the trending lists, with over ten thousand comments.

Comment 1: No way? I go to the same school. They’re cousins, for real.

Comment 2: They’re not cousins, they’re a couple. My sister said they went public right after graduation.

Comment 3 replies to Comment 2: It’s true, I heard that too.

Comment 4: Holy shit, this is so damn discouraging. Their grades are that good even while they’re dating? And the key part is they’re both gorgeous.

Comment 5: Other people’s kids can study hard and find a girlfriend. My kid just plays with mud.

Comment 6: Let me tell you guys, they were super sweet at school. The guy would always get her meals and wash her tray. Once when it was raining, he even gave her a piggyback ride to the classroom.

I was thinking back then, ’Are they a couple or not?’ I can’t believe I actually sniffed out the real thing!

Comment 7: They used to walk around the track all the time. Someone saw them kissing once, but none of us believed it back then. Looks like we were just too naive.

AHHHHH!!

Comment 8: A high school romance between geniuses... so thrilling and enviable.

...

Holly scrolled through a ton of the comments. "..."

’If people keep digging like this,’ she thought, ’all of our little secrets are going to be exposed.’