Chapter 276: Chapter 286: Youth Without Regrets: Who Is Truly Without Regret?

The ones who hadn’t hit the books back in the day lamented for several minutes, their words filled with regret for not studying harder.

Who among them could truly say they had a youth without regrets?

Holly Winslow glanced at Mortimer Quincy, wondering if he had any regrets. As their eyes met, he knew exactly what she was thinking. He raised an eyebrow. "I do."

Holly was a little curious. She tilted her head to look at him. "What do you regret?"

"That I didn’t get into a relationship sooner," Mortimer Quincy said with a straight face.

Holly: "..."

’This guy needs a smack.’ While everyone else was lamenting their studies, he was lamenting his love life.

’Then again, he had no reason to lament his grades. No amount of regret would add a single point to his already perfect scores.’

’Yeah, that thought stung a little.’

She muttered under her breath, "With that childhood-sweetheart cousin of yours?"

Mortimer Quincy: "..."

Anna Willow, sitting next to Holly, listened to the conversation and felt a little grateful she’d put in at least some effort back then. She leaned closer to Holly. "Holly, I’m starting to think it was a good thing Zeke Zane was always talking about schoolwork."

Holly couldn’t help but smile. She looked at her friend and teased, "Oh? Wasn’t he boring? Wasn’t he ’not boyfriend material’?"

"I was just clueless back then. Now I know better. Studying is so important."

Anna Willow nuzzled her head against Holly’s arm. Remembering something, she whispered, "I ran into a classmate from middle school the other day. Her kid’s already old enough to run errands."

"She was the prettiest girl in our class in middle school. Not quite on your level, Holly, but still gorgeous."

"So many guys had a crush on her back then. They were always stuffing her desk with snacks and love letters. All of us in our dorm room were so jealous. Heh, I even wished I could be her, just for the free snacks."

Holly couldn’t help but chuckle at that. "Anna, did you latch onto me just because I gave you some potato chips back in high school?"

On their first day of high school, she had shared a bag of chips with her dorm mates, and Anna Willow had enthusiastically given her an apple in return.

Anna Willow giggled. "Heh heh, but those chips were really good."

Then she continued, "I always thought she’d end up having a great life. I mean, she was so beautiful."

"But she’s changed so much now. She looks so old and worn out."

She couldn’t help but sigh. "I guess being beautiful doesn’t guarantee a good life after all. I’ve been reading too many novels."

A woman who is both brilliant and beautiful might have a bit of luck on her side, but most of her success is built on her own hard work.

"That’s why you should read fewer novels, especially those overbearing CEO stories," Holly said, patting her shoulder earnestly.

The overbearing CEO novels these days were getting more and more ridiculous. A problem that could be solved with a single sentence gets dragged out for years.

Speaking of novels, something occurred to Anna Willow. She glanced at Mortimer Quincy, then whispered to Holly, "I actually saw your husband’s name in a novel yesterday. The title was *The Overbearing CEO’s Pampered Little Wife*."

Holly: "..."

Anna added, "It was so heartbreaking, though. The female lead lost her baby. I was crying my eyes out."

"If it weren’t for the example of your handsome cousin sitting right here, I’d be calling that book’s Mortimer Quincy a total scumbag. He was horrible! He hurt the female lead so badly over some two-faced ’green tea’ girl that she went into hiding for years."

"Ugh, when are they going to write a novel where the heroine actually ends up with the devoted second male lead?"

Holly: "..."

’*The Overbearing CEO’s Pampered Little Wife?*’

’I’ll have to check out this ’Quincy the Scumbag’ when I get home.’

When Mortimer Quincy saw Anna Willow and Holly glancing at him from time to time, he had a bad feeling.

’They’re definitely not saying anything nice about me.’

An accurate guess from a husband of more than a decade.

About ten minutes later, Julian Carlton arrived. He was dressed just like he used to as their teacher: short-sleeved shirt, casual pants, and sneakers.

In the few years since they’d last seen him, his hairline had receded, but not much else had changed.

Mortimer Quincy caught his wife subconsciously touching the top of her head. He let out a low laugh. "Don’t worry, honey. I’m not bald yet."

Holly shot him a glare.

A group of students called out, "Old Calder! What took you so long? We saved you a seat!"

Julian Carlton sat down cheerfully in the seat they’d saved for him and glanced around at his former students. "You’ve all changed so much. So, come on, tell me what you think now. Was all that studying worth it or not?"

"Old Calder, you should have taken a stick to me to make me study back then! My life is miserable now," one of the guys bellowed, just as loud as he’d been in high school.

Julian Carlton looked at him and couldn’t help but laugh. "So now you realize it’s miserable?"

He shook his head. "Even an iron rod wouldn’t have worked back then. If you all had just listened to what I said, every one of you would’ve gotten into a top university."

With another sigh, he added, "Now you see how important it was, right? It’s not too late. You can come back and do high school all over again. I’ll even teach you for another three years."

Everyone laughed and agreed, but very few were actually determined enough to retake the college entrance exams.

At their age, retaking the entrance exams would certainly take a lot of courage.

The group chatted and laughed, and the topic eventually turned to marriage. Several couples were getting married that year. Those who hadn’t pursued higher education tended to marry earlier.

As the conversation flowed, the topic landed on Holly. A girl asked curiously, "Holly, when are you two having your wedding banquet?"

It was no longer a secret that the two of them had already registered their marriage.

Holly hadn’t expected the topic to shift to her. She put the piece of tripe she’d half-bitten back into her bowl and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "We haven’t..."

Before she could finish, Mortimer Quincy, who was beside her, said, "This time next year."

A collective "Woooow" went through the group. Mortimer then added, "You’ll all get invitations."

Beau Sullivan glanced at Xavier Jennings. Xavier, in turn, glanced at Holly. By now, there wasn’t much of a crush left—just a lingering attachment to his youthful fantasies.

Anna Willow also stared at Holly. "Holly, why didn’t you tell me? I’m not even mentally prepared to be your bridesmaid yet!"

This was news to Holly, too. "I didn’t know either! We haven’t set a date yet. Once we do, I’ll tell you and Ellie. After all, you two are my bridesmaids."

Anna Willow beamed. "Then it’s a deal! And can my Zeke be a groomsman?"

"Ooh, things are that serious now? Could it be because of... *that night*?" Holly teased.

To her surprise, Anna actually blushed at the teasing. Seeing this, Holly realized something was up. She leaned close to her friend’s ear. "Anna, don’t tell me you two... actually did it?"

Blushing, Anna let out a small "mhm" and whispered, "Holly, you can’t tell anyone."

Holly was ready to get her revenge for all the teasing they’d given her. "Why not? It’s perfectly normal for a couple."

"Holly!"

Anna, unlike Holly, wasn’t an old soul who had lived two lifetimes. The teasing made her blush all the way to her ears.

Holly laughed so hard she leaned against Mortimer Quincy’s shoulder. The piece of food he had just picked up with his chopsticks dropped back into the hotpot, splashing broth into the air. He instinctively shielded her with his body.

Then, he turned to her with a serious expression and chided her gently, "Sit up straight."

Holly sheepishly rubbed her nose and muttered, "Quincy the Puppy, you have to give me some face when we’re out."

Her comment made him laugh. He patted her head, then picked up a slice of meat and placed it in her bowl. "When have I ever not given you face, my dear? Now, eat up. We need to get you full so we can get down to business when we get home."