Seeing this, Holly Winslow sighed inwardly, not wanting to sound too harsh. "No, I just don't like it."
"Then what do you want to eat? I'll treat you," Xavier Jennings said, instantly flashing a wide, goofy grin.
Even with the crowd of students leaving school, Mortimer Quincy, who was standing by the gate, still noticed the girl in the white hoodie walking toward the entrance—and the boy in a black hoodie next to her.
'They look like a matching couple.'
The teenager frowned, his long legs carrying him over. He could faintly hear the other boy saying, "Holly Winslow, let's hang out tomorrow. Didn't you say you wanted to go to the amusement park last time? I'll take you."
He called out, "Holly Winslow."
Holly Winslow looked up. Not far away, the teenager was wearing a thin, dark-blue sweater that made his skin appear even fairer. Plenty of girls around them were checking him out.
She hurried over to him. "Cousin."
Mortimer Quincy casually took her backpack. Just then, Xavier Jennings hurried over, trying to curry favor. "Hi, Cousin. I'm Holly Winslow's classmate, Xavier Jennings."
"Cousin, let me treat you both to some milk tea."
'If I get on her cousin's good side, it'll be way easier to ask Holly out.'
Mortimer Quincy's tone was chilly. "That won't be necessary. We're heading home."
'He wants to use me to hit on my wife? He can forget about me being friendly.'
"It'll just take a second, Cousin. I can ask the owner to make it to-go. You guys can drink it on the way home." Xavier Jennings didn't take it to heart, assuming it was just awkwardness from them having just met.
When Holly saw the outer corner of Mortimer Quincy's long, narrow eye lift slightly, she knew he was seriously displeased. The last time he'd been this upset was over a divorce case where the husband, who had cheated, demanded his wife leave with nothing and even wanted Mortimer to pin the affair on her.
Mortimer Quincy had punched the man on the spot. In the end, the husband was the one who left the marriage with nothing, and he even had to pay Mortimer's law firm fifty thousand in reputational damages.
"Xavier Jennings, we don't want any. We're going to get going. Bye."
She pulled Mortimer Quincy out through the school gates, then turned to him. "Where are we going?"
Mortimer Quincy thought for a moment. They were both students right now, so they couldn't go anywhere too fancy. "Milk tea?"
"Okay."
Holly Winslow nodded.
Worried about being caught by teachers, they hailed a cab and went to a milk tea shop a bit of a distance from the school.
Captain's Milk Tea.
The walls of the shop were adorned with hanging flower baskets, from which white wisteria vines cascaded down. The seats were designed as swings, and in the center of each seat were two small figurines of a boy and a girl.
Mortimer Quincy handed her the menu, gesturing for her to order.
Holly Winslow studied the menu for a moment before looking up at the waitress. "I'll have a boba milk tea with an extra serving of taro balls. Hubby, what are you getting?"
'After calling him that for four or five years, it's not an easy habit to break.'
Hearing the word "hubby," the young waitress's face flushed as she suppressed a smile. 'Are high schoolers these days really that casual about calling their boyfriends 'hubby'?'
Holly belatedly realized her mistake. She let out an unnatural cough and tried to cover her tracks, which only made things more conspicuous. "Cousin, what are you getting?"
The waitress shot them a strange look. "..."
'Is dating your cousin in style now?'
Holly gave up trying to explain. 'The more I say, the worse it'll get.'
A subtle smile played in Mortimer Quincy's eyes. "I'll have the same as you, *cousin*." He put extra emphasis on the word "cousin."
"That's sixteen yuan, please," the waitress said, looking down to calculate.
Holly quickly pulled out a twenty-yuan bill and held it out, but Mortimer handed over a twenty of his own at the same time.
The waitress took Mortimer's bill and gave him four yuan back. "One moment, please."
It didn't take long for the milk tea to arrive.
Mortimer poked the straw into her cup before handing it to Holly.
Holly took a few sips, gazing at her young and handsome husband before her. A date like this felt surprisingly novel.
"Does this count as puppy love?"
Mortimer took a sip of his tea, the artificial sweetness from the powder mix making him frown slightly. Hearing her question, he shook his head. "No."
"It's an early marriage."
Holly spat out a mouthful of milk tea. "COUGH, COUGH..."
Mortimer quickly grabbed a napkin for her. "Slow down."
After wiping her mouth, Holly shot him an annoyed glare. "That was your fault!"
"I was just telling the truth," Mortimer said with a raised eyebrow.
The two of them sat for half an hour before leaving.
"Where to next?" Mortimer asked, taking her hand.
"I want to get some spicy skewers from the little alley."
Holly had made a wish back in high school to eat spicy skewers with her boyfriend at least once.
But she ended up going all three years of high school without a boyfriend.
"If you want them, let's go get them," Mortimer said.
Being so young and holding hands, they drew a lot of odd stares, as if people were thinking they were up to no good at their age.
The "legally married couple" was being stared at so intensely that they started to feel the guilt of a secret high school romance. Holly pulled Mortimer along, making him walk a little faster.
Once they got to the little alley, there were more couples around, so they no longer stood out.
The spicy skewer stand under the plane tree was the best.
Holly grabbed seven or eight spicy skewers, added some chili, and carried them over to an empty wooden table.
There was another couple next to them. The girl had yellow-dyed hair, and the boy had green-dyed hair. The boy's hand was caressing the girl's thigh as he kept calling her "baby."
Holly: "..."
She looked at Mortimer. "Hub... um, can you eat this?"
'He has very high standards. I've never seen him eat street food before.'
"It's fine." Mortimer picked up a slice of lotus root with his chopsticks and chewed on it a few times.
...
Even though Mortimer didn't eat much, Holly was very happy. It felt just like a young couple on a date.
It was getting late, and they both had to head home, or else their parents would start looking for them.
Fortunately, they lived in the same residential complex, just in different buildings.
Mortimer's family lived in a separate villa, while Holly's was on the third floor of one of the apartment buildings.
When they reached her building, Holly told Mortimer he could head back.
Mortimer handed her backpack back. "Come over to my place tomorrow to do homework."
"Really?" 'Mortimer's grades are so good,' Holly thought. 'He could tutor me.'
"My parents shouldn't be home for a while," Mortimer said.
Mortimer's parents were real estate developers and were very wealthy in Jarton County. The entire residential complex had been built by the Quincy Family.
She had only found out after their marriage that Mortimer was a "second-generation heir" who was practically rolling in money.
"Okay." Holly Winslow nodded.
Third Floor
Holly took out her key and opened the door. The rich aroma of a home-cooked meal drifted out, and she felt a momentary daze.
Hearing the sound, Wyatt Winslow came out of the kitchen wearing an apron, his expression that of a stern father. "Why are you home so late?"
Previously, her relationship with Wyatt Winslow had been terrible—so bad that they would end up arguing after exchanging just a few sentences.
She had always felt that her father didn't like her, but later, on her wedding day, she had seen him secretly wiping his tears.
It was only then that she realized he did care for her; he just didn't know how to show it.
"I was out with a classmate, Dad. What are you cooking? It smells amazing."
She dropped her backpack on the sofa and darted into the kitchen. "Wow, Dad, you made my favorite spicy fish! You're the best!"
Her sudden show of affection left Wyatt Winslow at a bit of a loss. Ever since his divorce from Holly's mother, his daughter hadn't been affectionate with him.
He said stiffly, "Just don't come home this late again."
"You got it, Dad!"
Holly took out two sets of bowls and chopsticks and dished out the rice. Once all the food was on the table, she placed a piece of fish in her father's bowl. "Dad's the master chef, so you get the first bite."
The hand Wyatt Winslow was holding his chopsticks with paused. "Just eat," he said in a low voice.
Seeing the smile instantly disappear from Holly's face, he was filled with regret.
'What I meant to say was, "Holly, you eat it. I can get my own."'
'I'm just no good at expressing myself.'
They didn't exchange another word for the rest of the meal.