Reborn with My Genius Husband

Chapter 209: Hello, Exposed Thigh

The debate competition job fell through, so Holly Winslow started looking for tutoring gigs online again. Probably because Branton University’s reputation was so well-known, quite a few parents contacted her first. As Holly sat at her computer, carefully screening which families to interview with, a call came in.

An unknown number.

"Hello, is this Holly Winslow?"

"Hello, yes it is."

"My name is Robin Roland. I saw your information for tutoring online. I’d like to ask, what is your hourly rate?"

This was the first person recently who’d asked her about money. Holly Winslow thought for a moment. "Ma’am, what do you think is a suitable price?"

"Twenty... is that okay?"

Robin Roland sounded a little nervous on the other end of the line. She added, "I don’t have much money. I’m a single parent, and I usually make a living by selling newspapers."

"My son is a senior in high school this year. His grades are very good, but his English is a little weak, so I’d like to hire a tutor to help him with it."

Perhaps afraid Holly would refuse, she gritted her teeth and added, "If that’s not enough, would thirty be okay?"

Holly Winslow pursed her lips, unsure if the woman was telling the truth. "Auntie, let’s meet and discuss it in person."

That afternoon, Holly Winslow met with Robin Roland. She didn’t look as old as Holly had imagined; in fact, she was quite attractive for a middle-aged woman, but her eyes held a world-weary sorrow.

She was wearing a gray padded jacket and was on the thin side.

After talking for over half an hour, Holly Winslow understood the situation and agreed.

Because of the special schedule for high school seniors, they didn’t get weekends off. The only time for tutoring was for an hour after Robin Roland’s son got back from his evening self-study session, ending at half past ten.

Fortunately, their home was only a ten-minute-or-so drive from the school, leaving enough time to get back by eleven.

When Mortimer Quincy heard about it, he wasn’t comfortable with her tutoring at night and insisted on going with her. Holly was actually a little scared too, since they were strangers. She told Robin Roland that her cousin would be coming along.

Robin Roland was very understanding and agreed.

It was just after eight in the evening when the two of them arrived at the address Robin Roland had given them.

Robin Roland lived in an old residential complex, but her apartment was very clean. Newspapers and magazines were piled everywhere on the cabinets.

After letting them in, Robin Roland gave Mortimer Quincy an extra glance, feeling he looked a bit familiar. Then, she brought them some water. "Please, have a seat. Yara Nolan will be back soon."

As she spoke, she pushed a bowl of fruit toward them, looking a little apologetic. "I’m sorry, I don’t have much to offer you."

Holly Winslow smiled. "Auntie Roland, please don’t worry about us."

A little after nine-twenty, Robin Roland took a flashlight and shone it down the stairwell.

A minute or two later, a boy about 1.7 meters tall appeared. He wore a school uniform under his padded jacket, had a standard buzz cut, and an earnest, upright-looking squarish face.

"Mom."

Yara Nolan saw the two extra people in the apartment but wasn’t surprised, as Robin Roland had already told him. His gaze lingered on Mortimer Quincy for a few extra seconds.

Soon, Holly Winslow understood why. Taped to the desk in Yara Nolan’s bedroom was a newspaper clipping about Mortimer Quincy getting a perfect score on his college entrance exam.

Holly Winslow could understand the sentiment. Back when she was taking the Level 8 English exam, she had bowed to Mortimer Quincy three times for good luck.

COUGH. The result was that rascal pinning her to the bed and tormenting her relentlessly.

He had said: "Better to enter than to entreat."

Robin Roland saw the person in the newspaper, then looked at Mortimer Quincy and exclaimed, "You’re that perfect-score champion?"

Her tone was filled with pleasant surprise. She added, "No wonder I thought you looked familiar. I even sold newspapers with your picture!"

Holly Winslow couldn’t help but smile.

After a few moments of excitement, Robin Roland left them to the room.

Holly Winslow asked Yara Nolan to take out his most recent English test. He had scored a hundred and something, which was decent enough.

She began explaining the problems. Yara Nolan seemed to know it wasn’t easy for his mom to hire a tutor for him, so he listened with exceptional focus, asking about anything he didn’t understand.

Compared to Chloe Hollis, Holly Winslow felt teaching Yara Nolan was much easier. She answered all his questions one by one, sometimes even giving him examples of similar problem types.

Mortimer Quincy watched them for a few minutes, then took out his phone and started reading financial case studies.

Andre Quincy had paid a high price to buy these from someone. They included analyses from veteran finance professors and were much more useful than the theoretical knowledge taught in class.

While Yara Nolan was working on some problems, Holly Winslow glanced at Mortimer Quincy behind her. The light from his phone illuminated his face, highlighting his straight, well-defined nose and giving him a somewhat cool, severe look.

His gaze was focused intently on the screen.

’Scholar Quincy really is handsome,’ she thought. ’He’s the kind of man you could be married to for years and never get tired of looking at.’

"Teacher Winslow."

Yara Nolan’s sudden call brought Holly Winslow back to her senses. Meeting his gaze, she gave a slightly unnatural cough. "You got it right. For this type of problem, as long as you memorize the pattern by rote, you won’t lose points."

At ten-thirty, the lesson ended.

As Holly Winslow and Mortimer Quincy were about to leave, Yara Nolan suddenly asked, "Could you explain a math problem to me?"

He was looking at Mortimer Quincy; it was clear the question was for him.

Mortimer Quincy nodded. "I can."

Yara asked about the last major problem on a math test. Holly looked at it for a moment. ’COUGH. I have a bit of an idea.’

Mortimer Quincy looked at it for about ten seconds and had already figured it out. He pointed to the test and said, "Given the conditions..."

His explanations were always fast; he was done in three to five minutes.

Boys tend to have a stronger aptitude for logical comprehension than girls, and Yara Nolan understood right away. "I’ve never seen this solution method before," he said.

"There’s more than one way to solve a problem. Don’t just rely on rote memorization," Mortimer Quincy reminded him.

After they left, Robin Roland came in to ask about the lesson. "Son, how was it?"

Yara Nolan nodded. "Mom, they explained things really well."

’Twenty yuan isn’t nearly enough.’

’I don’t understand why Holly Winslow and him agreed to it, but I’ll cherish this opportunity.’

Robin Roland was happy to hear that. "As long as it was good. Son, Mom will go cook you a couple of fried eggs."

"Thanks, Mom." Yara Nolan gave her a complicated look, but then his eyes firmed with determination.

’I will definitely give Mom a better life.’

「On the road」

Holly Winslow had her hand in Mortimer Quincy’s pants pocket. She thought of Robin Roland on the sofa, assembling tiny electronic components, her eyes unable to see clearly, leaning in close to the parts.

"Honey, I suddenly feel so lucky."

"Hm?" Mortimer Quincy said, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"I was able to start over again," Holly Winslow sighed wistfully.

’Starting over is a new life. A new life is a wish that so many people can only dream of. The idea of doing whatever you want while you’re young... it’s just something people say. You have to think three times before you act.’

"And?" Mortimer Quincy raised an eyebrow.

Holly Winslow huffed, then stuck her tongue out. "And that I got to start over with my hooligan husband."

The "hooligan husband" in question, Mortimer Quincy, chuckled. "What would you have done if I hadn’t started over too?"

Holly Winslow’s eyes darted around playfully. "I’d have let you stay a bachelor forever." As soon as she said it, she tried to pull her hand out and run.

Mortimer Quincy instinctively held on to her, and a tearing sound immediately rang out. Both of them looked down at his pants pocket.

It had ripped open.

Holly Winslow sheepishly helped him cover it up. "COUGH. Honey, your pants are at the cutting edge of the fashion world."

Mortimer Quincy didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He teased, "The cutting edge of leg-reveals?"

Holly Winslow snorted with laughter. "Hello, Lucy’s leg!" she said, then mischievously poked her finger into his thigh.

"I’m hard," Mortimer Quincy said, his throat bobbing.

Holly Winslow didn’t understand what he meant. "What’s hard?"

"Little Mortimer is hard," Mortimer Quincy said grimly.