novelraw Chapter 199: Could She Be Pregnant?
Chapter 199: Could She Be Pregnant?
"Let’s go out to eat." Wyatt Winslow paused for a moment, then added, "Let’s have hot pot."
"Dad, you can’t eat spicy food."
"We’ll get a split pot."
At that, Holly no longer refused. The two of them went out to eat.
At ten o’clock, the hot pot restaurant was empty. The owner even personally prepared the soup base for their table.
Wyatt Winslow rarely served food to others, but he picked up some of Holly’s favorite dishes with his chopsticks and placed them in her bowl—a clumsy way of showing he cared. "Eat up."
"You eat more too, Dad. You’ve gotten thinner." Smiling, Holly returned the favor, placing a piece of food in his bowl.
...
By the time Wyatt Winslow had fully recovered, it was already Wednesday when Holly returned to school. She took out the snacks her father had bought and shared them with her dorm mates, then she suddenly noticed some money tucked at the very bottom.
Autumn Underwood saw the stack of cash in her hand—at least three thousand yuan—and asked in surprise, "Holly, you get that much for an allowance?"
Everyone in the dorm knew Holly’s family was probably well-off, but they had assumed they were just comfortably middle-class.
Holly just smiled without answering. She then glanced at her watch; it was almost twelve.
Today was the first day of the club’s debate tournament, starting at noon.
Mortimer Quincy, Holly Winslow, Cynthia Owens, and a guy named Pantheon formed a team of four.
Two of them were finance majors, and two weren’t. Their chances of winning were slim, but Mortimer Quincy and Cynthia Owens were considered the "cream of the crop" in the finance department.
Their argument was: For urban commercial banks, compliance creates value.
There were eight teams in total, and they were the sixth to present.
By the time the fifth team was up, Holly was getting a little nervous. Mortimer, beside her, patted her head. "Don’t be nervous. Your husband is here."
Holly stuck her tongue out at him and whispered back, "I’m not the kind of woman who relies on her husband."
Mortimer let out a low chuckle and couldn’t resist leaning over to kiss her. "Then I’ll be the one relying on you."
Pantheon: "..."
He rolled his eyes.
’This isn’t a debate competition; it’s a PDA-fest.’
’Fucking nauseating.’
’Too bad Zeke can’t see this.’
With that thought, he whipped out his phone, secretly snapped a picture, and sent it to all his comrades in men’s dorm 206.
Boris Owens: Fuck off.
Paul Powell: Good thing I have a girlfriend.
Chase Hawkins: Forrest, fuck you, are you even human?
Zeke Zane: Forrest, I can smell the sour stench of you being a single dog even through my screen.
’SIN! GLE! DOG!’
Pantheon: ...
’FUCK! ING! SON! OF! A! BITCH!’
As the first speaker for her team, Holly began, "We argue that for urban commercial banks, compliance creates value."
"Compliance management impacts the value drivers of a commercial bank on two levels: by controlling risk-related losses and by enhancing core competitiveness. This, in turn, influences the bank’s ability to create value."
A guy from the opposing team quickly stood up to rebut. "We argue that for urban commercial banks, innovation creates value. Urban commercial banks are a product of our country’s Reform and Opening-Up period. Without exploration and reform, they would have no reason to exist."
Mortimer stood up, speaking in a measured tone. "We maintain that for urban commercial banks, compliance creates value. Establishing a sound compliance management system and consciously adhering to compliant operations not only effectively reduces operational risk, but also significantly lowers the probability of credit and market risks, thereby decreasing legal incidents and non-performing assets..."
The opposing team was stunned by his long, seamless monologue. Pantheon gave Mortimer a big thumbs-up.
Holly’s team successfully advanced to the second round and would be competing in the finals the next day.
Pantheon, walking beside Mortimer, said to Holly, "You’re incredible, Holly. How do you know so much?"
"I just looked it up online," Holly said, linking her arm with Mortimer’s.
Ignoring them completely, Pantheon asked, "Hey Holly, can you send me a copy?"
"I’ll send it from my computer when I get back to my dorm," Holly agreed without hesitation.
Pantheon looked like he was about to say more, but he caught Mortimer’s unhappy glare and wisely shut up. "..."
Suddenly, a tall guy walked over and called out, "Cynthia Owens! I’ll be waiting for you at the school gate at two this afternoon."
Cynthia had gotten much prettier since starting college. She’d swapped her glasses for contacts and had her hair permed.
While not stunningly beautiful, she was definitely the type to have admirers.
She nodded.
Pantheon: "..."
He brazenly chimed in, "I don’t have class this afternoon. Mind if I tag along?"
Holly: "..."
’Mortimer couldn’t bear to watch.’
Cynthia gave him a strange look, but the other guy answered cheerfully, "Actually, I was just worried we wouldn’t have enough people. Thanks, man!"
’Not enough people?’
Pantheon had a bad feeling. "..."
He forced a smile. "Don’t mention it. We’re all schoolmates here."
Holly couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Feeling it was a bit impolite, she tugged on Mortimer’s shirt, trying to hide her face.
Mortimer glanced down at her, his eyes full of affection, and pulled her in tighter. "Let’s get going."
Pantheon spent the entire afternoon helping the finance department move equipment. By the end, he was completely wiped out.
To top it off, Cynthia had only shown up to take inventory before leaving.
Holly heard about Pantheon’s miserable plight from Anna and laughed so hard she was practically bent in half, dropping the book she was holding.
Autumn and the others looked over. Serena, who was wearing a face mask, grinned mischievously. "What’s so funny, Holly? Don’t tell me you’re pregnant?"
Holly stopped laughing and started coughing violently. Serena added, "Did I hit the nail on the head?"
Holly: "..."
She puffed out her stomach and patted it. "Yep, I am. Four months along."
Just then, their counselor walked in. She happened to overhear that last part and glanced at Holly’s stomach.
Holly: "..."
She sucked her stomach back in.
’Who left the door open!’
Serena and the other two burst out laughing.
The counselor joked, "Do you need me to approve your maternity leave?"
Holly: "..."
She waved her hands meekly. "No, that’s okay."
The counselor chuckled, then got down to business. "Please be mindful of electrical safety. Don’t use any high-wattage appliances."
As she was leaving, she added one last piece of advice, "And make sure to use protection." She shot a meaningful look at Holly as she said it.
Holly: "..."
Once the counselor was gone, Serena and the other two were doubled over with laughter. Serena grinned. "Did you hear that, Holly? Make sure to use protection!"
Holly: "..."
"You guys have such dirty minds."
Autumn clicked her tongue. "Oh, Holly, don’t be embarrassed. We’re all adults here."
Simone chimed in, "interrogating" her. "You’re telling me you two sleep in the same bed and nothing happens?"
Holly: "..."
She nodded earnestly. "We really don’t."
"Huh?" Serena was incredulous. She blurted out, "Don’t tell me your boyfriend is... you know... impotent?"
Holly: "..."
’She had inadvertently let Mortimer take the "blame" for this.’
After climbing into bed, she opened up the "Little Fairies" group chat.
Anna Willow: Do all men just *look* well-behaved?
Iris Kensington: Did Zeke Zane make a move on you?
Anna Willow (protesting a little too much): I wasn’t talking about him.
Holly replied innocently: Yeah, they *look* well-behaved.
Iris Kensington: Holly, you have no say in this. Your boyfriend doesn’t look well-behaved at all. With a handsome face like that, it would be a crime if he *didn’t* make a move.
Holly: ...
Anna Willow: HAHAHAHA, that’s what I’m saying. If Zeke was as hot as that handsome man of yours, I’d be the one copping a feel if he didn’t make a move first.
Holly: ...
Iris Kensington chimed in: Makes sense. I’d grope him from top to bottom, back and forth, hundreds of times.
Holly: ...
’I’ve been corrupted.’