Reborn with My Genius Husband-Chapter 132: The Great Puppy Love King
Senior year of high school was rather "dull"—except the dullness had been cranked up tenfold. It was a monotonous cycle: attend lectures in class, do practice exams after class, memorize vocabulary during meals, and study classical texts in the bathroom.
Eighteen hours a day were sacrificed to subjects like Chinese, Math, English, Biology, and Chemistry.
The seniors, still not fully adjusted to having only one day off a month, were already growing listless just ten days into the second month.
During this intense review period, it wasn’t just the students; even the senior-year teachers were starting to feel the strain.
The homeroom teachers brought the issue to the school’s attention. The school held a meeting and ultimately decided to set aside one afternoon each month for the students to unwind.
This month’s relaxation activity, scheduled for a Wednesday afternoon, was a tug-of-war competition.
It had been decided by a vote.
The Rocket Class had so few girls that they couldn’t even form a full team. Gabe Chaucer was in a tough spot, but after discussing it with the other classes, an agreement was reached: two boys could substitute for girls.
Teenage boys, full of pride, felt it was "beneath them" to compete against girls.
There was no honor in a tug-of-war against girls.
When Gabe Chaucer asked the whole class for volunteers, all the boys went quiet. Not a single one spoke up.
Just as he was about to say something, a student raised a hand.
"..."
’That’s a bit unexpected.’
He asked, "Mortimer Quincy, you want to participate in the girls’ team’s tug-of-war match?"
’Ever since Holly Winslow arrived, Mortimer Quincy seems to have become more "active," participating in these activities more often.’
"Mhm." Mortimer Quincy nodded, ignoring everyone’s astonished stares. Holly buried her face, trying to stifle a laugh. The mental image of Mortimer competing with the girls in tug-of-war was so hilarious she couldn’t help but grin.
Mortimer Quincy shot her a look. ’My heartless girl,’ he thought.
’Who does she think I raised my hand for?’
Pantheon turned his head and let out a teasing "Yooo~."
He was practically radiating bitter single-guy energy.
’Even tug-of-war is an excuse for a PDA. I have to hand it to them.’
Gabe Chaucer saw Pantheon’s little display perfectly. "Alright then, we still need one more person. I’ll just pick at random... How about you, Pantheon?"
An innocent Pantheon: "..."
’Randomly? Is that what he calls random?’
’Or is it just picking the guy closest to him?’
He really didn’t want to compete against the girls. If he had a girlfriend, he’d be happy to join in, but since he didn’t, why bother? "Sir, my leg’s cramping up. I can’t do it."
"A cramp, you say? Come here, I’ll stretch it out for you. I may be a ’terrible’ teacher, but I’m an expert when it comes to fixing ’cramps.’"
Gabe Chaucer shot him an exasperated glare. Seeing Pantheon didn’t dare to object further, he added, "So, that’s settled. Tomorrow, there’s only one priority: safety first. If you feel you can’t hold on, just let go. No one will make fun of you. And if they do, they’ll be making fun of me, your homeroom teacher."
"Hey, Old Shaw, you’re underestimating us," a boy quipped. "With our mighty physiques, we’re sure to win."
Gabe Chaucer didn’t shoot down his confidence, instead offering a few words of praise. "Alright. If you win, I’ll buy you all lollipops."
"Alright, that’s enough chatter. Get your textbooks out and prepare for the next class. Everyone, focus!"
Perhaps because they knew they had the afternoon off tomorrow, the students were much more attentive during their three evening classes.
After finishing their dorm inspections, the senior-year teachers left campus together, commenting as they walked that the students were still so immature, always just thinking about fun and games.
While brushing her teeth, Holly Winslow realized she was out of toothpaste. She glanced at her watch—ten minutes until the dorm doors locked. She threw on her slippers and sprinted to the campus store.
There weren’t many people at the store by then. After buying her toothpaste, she rushed back to her dorm.
She only slowed down when she was almost at the dorm entrance. After just a few more steps, she saw Valerie Walsh around the corner of the building, talking with a boy from Class One. The boy reached out and caressed Valerie’s face.
It looked like they were dating.
She’d seen this boy before. Besides Mortimer Quincy, he was considered the best-looking guy in their year. His grades were also excellent—good enough to get into a top-tier university.
Valerie Walsh and the boy saw her, too. Valerie was visibly flustered.
Holly Winslow averted her eyes and walked around them, heading back to her dorm.
She had just squeezed toothpaste onto her brush when Valerie Walsh came back. They were both standing by the sinks, and Holly felt a little awkward. She was about to head into a stall to brush her teeth when she heard Valerie ask, "Can you please not tell anyone?"
Holly had only suspected Valerie might have a boyfriend, but hearing her say that confirmed it.
It’s not like she was petty enough to gossip about someone else’s relationship anyway. "I just mind my own business," she said, before taking her toothbrush into the bathroom stall.
Valerie Walsh bit her lip, a complicated look in her eyes.
After lights-out, Holly Winslow began her nightly ritual: one section of a math practice exam. From her left earbud, she could hear the boisterous voices of boys. "A pair of Oxygens! A pair of Sodiums!"
A moment later, Mortimer Quincy’s deep, magnetic voice came through, unhurried. "A pair of Calciums."
"Aww, damn it, I lost again! How do you always have the Calciums? You’re totally cheating!"
Pantheon’s dejected voice rang out. "If I keep losing, I’m gonna be out of underwear."
Holly couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
She knew what game they were playing. They’d made a deck of cards out of the first twenty elements of the periodic table, with the value determined by the proton number. Calcium, with twenty protons, served as the jokers.
She whispered, "How much have you won?"
Mortimer Quincy glanced at the pile of fifty-cent coins in front of him. "Hmm, probably enough to buy you two ice cream cones."
The boys of Dorm 206 all knew that Mortimer Quincy had long phone calls with his girlfriend every night. Paul Powell suddenly leaned toward the phone and shouted, "You gotta do something about your man Mortimer! He’s being ruthless!" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
"You need to discipline him!"
A soft, feminine mumble came through the earpiece. ’I can’t control him. It’s a good day if he doesn’t try to control me.’
Hearing this, the corners of Mortimer Quincy’s eyes crinkled. ’Looks like my girl’s got some complaints,’ he thought.
’That’s enough playing.’
As everyone watched, he swept the handful of fifty-cent coins on the desk into his drawer. "I’m done playing," he said into the phone, his low voice tinged with a smile. "You call the shots."
Everyone else: "..."
Zeke Zane, who had lost four and a half yuan that night, protested glumly, "Mortimer Quincy, the loser hasn’t tapped out. The winner can’t just walk away."
"Sorry, my household is very strict," Mortimer said, dishing out another serving of PDA. He then got up, climbed into his bunk, and lay down to continue his call.
Everyone else: "..."
’So what if he has a girlfriend? Big deal.’
’Okay, fine. It is a big deal.’
’An incredible academic prodigy, and an incredible king of puppy love.’
"Do you want chocolate or strawberry tomorrow?" Mortimer asked, pulling his bunk curtain shut and cutting off their line of sight.
"Can I get both?" Holly Winslow asked, tapping her chin with her pen.
Mortimer agreed without hesitation. "Sure. For two kisses."
...
On Wednesday, after their afternoon naps, all the seniors assembled on the athletic field. The principal, dressed in a tracksuit, gave a short speech. The gist of it was the importance of balancing hard work with rest.
Mortimer Quincy wore a black t-shirt, while Holly Winslow wore a white one. Both shirts featured a stick-figure drawing of a couple’s matching profile picture.
Clearly, it was another one of their "sibling outfits."
Or rather, a couple’s outfit.
Pantheon and Zeke Zane already felt like their eyes had been burned out by the couple’s antics, but each new sighting made them realize their blindness wasn’t yet complete.
In fact, their vision seemed to be exceptionally good, because they could clearly make out a tiny red heart next to the stick-figure heads on the shirts.
