Chapter 280: Chapter 290: Pre-ordering the "Five-Star" Package

His confident tone was such a blatant display of affection that the onlookers almost choked on it. "..."

Eileen Webb laughed out loud. Looking at her students, who were all adults now, she said half-jokingly, "You all need to step it up. You can’t let Mortimer take the lead every time."

Everyone laughed at her words. Pantheon glanced at Cynthia Owens before taking her hand and shouting with a laugh, "Mr. Webb, Mortimer is using cheats! We can’t keep up with him."

Hearing those two words, "using cheats," Holly Winslow couldn’t help but smile. She glanced at Mortimer and nodded in agreement.

’He really is using cheats. Otherwise, his wife would still be staying at her father’s house.’

Mortimer noticed Holly’s reaction and raised an eyebrow, reaching out to play with the child in her arms.

"If he’s using them, you can use them too," Eileen Webb joked with a smile. "When you were students, you all talked about using cheats in games. Did you forget how?"

One of the guys chimed in, "Using cheats isn’t enough anymore. We’d need to launch a rocket. Am I right, guys?"

"Yeah!" the group replied, roaring with laughter.

Being ganged up on and teased like this, Holly’s face grew redder and redder. Finally, she handed the child to Mortimer.

Mortimer held the child, patting its back a couple of times with practiced ease. The baby in his arms comfortably squinted its eyes shut.

He’d taken parenting classes.

’Back in his past life, he and Holly had already been preparing to have a child around this time.’

Chase Hawkins couldn’t resist heckling, "Whoa, Mortimer, look at those smooth moves. Planning on being the primary caregiver?"

Mortimer gave him a look one might give an idiot. ’It’s my child. If I don’t take care of them, who will?’

’The guy next door?’

Chase Hawkins, completely oblivious, didn’t get the hint. Seeing that Mortimer wasn’t responding, he added, "Hey, Mortimer, you’ll have to share your parenting wisdom with us all in the future."

Mortimer lifted his chin slightly and said flatly, "Get a girlfriend first."

That barb hit Chase Hawkins right where it hurt. "..."

He clutched his chest dramatically. "Farewell, everyone."

The room filled with laughter. For a moment, it felt just like their high school days, joking around between classes.

When it was almost noon, Eileen Webb offered to treat them to a meal at her shop, but everyone politely declined. They soon broke off into smaller groups and went their separate ways.

Afterward, Zeke Zane and the others met up to play games for a couple of hours. Holly and Mortimer’s team won almost every time. Neither of them died even once, from the first match to the very last.

Chase Hawkins was utterly crushed. He slumped over the table, wailing, "Academics, love, gaming... Why do I suck at all of them?"

Pantheon, standing nearby, was doubled over with laughter. He patted Chase’s shoulder. "Don’t lose hope. You could always just listen to your mom and go on some blind dates."

Chase Hawkins gave him a single word: "Scram."

...

Mortimer’s vacation came to an end, and he had to head back to work. But before he left, he didn’t forget to collect his "interest."

That "interest" compounded many times over.

His excessive "interest" collection made Holly late for her calligraphy class. While it wasn’t a big deal, she hated the feeling of everyone staring at her as she walked in.

She ended up blocking him for a few days.

Holly and Mortimer didn’t see each other for the next month, but they talked on the phone every night. They were both busy with their own lives, so they’d just exchange a few words whenever they had a moment.

A few days before the end of her calligraphy course, the center held an exam to assess the students’ progress.

Holly "cheated" by using the advantage of her extra dozen-or-so years of life and took first place on the exam. She received a certificate that read: *Shuyi Center Calligraphy Examination — First Prize*.

Feeling quite pleased with herself, she snapped a photo and posted it online with the caption: "Guess this is the first time in my life I’ve won a first-place award all on my own."

Then she added another line: "So thankful that the guy who’s *always* number one wasn’t around this time."

It wasn’t long before Anna Willow replied: "Bwahahaha! Holly, when you put it like that, you sound so pathetic! Hahahaha, I’m dying laughing!"

Iris Kensington offered a serious analysis: "Looking past the surface to see the truth of the matter, I can confirm that your handsome cousin is the ultimate top student. My image of him has just become even more impressive."

Holly replied to Anna Willow: "It’s fine, it’s fine. Just the most pathetic person in the whole country." She added a laughing-crying emoji.

Holly replied to Iris Kensington: "Shouldn’t it be *my* image that’s becoming more impressive in your mind?"

Anna Willow: "Hahahaha, I’ll pity you for one second. Nope, can’t do it. Hold on, let me finish laughing."

Iris Kensington: "Of course, of course, you’re the one. The most beautiful goddess in the entire world."

Reading her friends’ comments, Holly was curled up on the sofa, shaking with laughter. Just as she was about to reply, a comment from "Holly’s Hubby" popped up: "Your husband and first place are both yours."

Anna Willow: "Tsk tsk tsk."

Iris Kensington: "Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk."

Pantheon: "Tsk tsk tsk tsk."

Cynthia Owens, who rarely commented, chimed in: "Holly, can you even handle him?"

’That guy Mortimer... he has absolutely no chill, even after getting married.’

Seeing Cynthia Owens’s comment made Holly laugh even harder. She replied: "Cousin Cynthia, what can I do? I’ve already boarded the pirate ship."

When Mortimer saw the words "pirate ship," he raised an eyebrow. He typed out a reply: "Wifey’s summary is perfect. And once you’re on this pirate ship, there’s no getting off."

Zeke Zane, who had been quiet the whole time, finally commented: "Mortimer, tone it down a bit. Quincy’s ten-foot-long broadsword is on its way."

And speak of the devil, just as his name was mentioned, Chase Hawkins commented: "It’s already here. And it’s a hundred-and-thirty-foot broadsword."

Mortimer shot back disdainfully: "A hundred-and-thirty-foot sword made of cotton?"

Chase Hawkins: ...

Pantheon: ...

Zeke Zane: ...

Boris Owens: "A dual-pronged attack on both IQ and EQ. Utterly crushed."

Mortimer grew bored of chatting with them, so he closed the app and called Holly. Hearing the laughter in her voice, his lips curled into a smile. "Honey, have you bought your plane ticket yet?"

"Not yet, I’ll look in a bit." Holly was still chuckling about the comment thread.

School started the day after tomorrow, so she had to fly to City B tomorrow.

A thought struck her, and she paused before adding, "Did you clean the apartment? If you did, I’ll get a later flight. If not, I’ll buy a morning ticket."

A minute or two passed with no response from Mortimer, just the sound of a keyboard clacking. Just as she was about to say, "Hello?" his voice came over the line. "It’s all clean."

"And I’ve bought your ticket. Ten o’clock arrival. I’ll pick you up at midday."

Before Holly could answer, he added, enunciating each word clearly, "Honey, I miss you. I want to see you as soon as possible."

Holly let out a pleased "hmph" and played dumb. "Miss my money, you mean? In your dreams."

Mortimer laughed, his voice low and magnetic. "Honey, I want to kiss you."

The colleague in the next cubicle whipped his head around to stare. "..."

’I’m right here, you know. Isn’t that a little inappropriate?’

If Zeke Zane had been there, he would have spoken from experience and told the man, ’Just get used to it.’

Since they weren’t face to face, Holly was feeling bold. She said playfully, "Hubby, you can have whatever you want... in your dreams."

Mortimer had no interest in dreams. He said seriously, "I’ll have everything for real tomorrow. Honey, I’m pre-ordering the ’five-star’ package."

Kissing, hugging, being lifted up high, caressing, and "doing it" was what he called the "five-star" package.

Holly: "..."

’A five-star package, my ass. Why not just go for a "ten-star" package while he’s at it?’

Her eyes darted mischievously. "Mr. Quincy, the five-star package costs 9,999 yuan a session. No reservations accepted. Payment in full is required."

A moment later, a text message arrived on her phone. It was a notification for a 10,000-yuan bank transfer.

She: "..."

"Quincy the Puppy, where did you get this kind of money?"

"I just borrowed it," Mortimer said.

Holly: "..."

She managed to squeeze out a reply, "Lawyer Quincy, you’re soliciting a prostitute. That’s illegal."

Lawyer Quincy: "..."