Chapter 291: Chapter 301: Teacher Winslow is Young, But Outstanding

The entire class let out a collective "Whoa," eager to hear more.

Holly Winslow smiled and picked up the test papers. "If you’re envious, then you’d better study hard. I’ll tell you more some other time. For now, look at your papers and listen up. Let’s take a look at the first question..."

...

The tutoring center issued the first month’s salary. In the office, Holly Winslow saw the 3,800 yuan deposit notification on her phone and felt a jolt of happiness.

She took a screenshot and sent it to Mortimer Quincy, showing off a little. "Honey, let’s have a feast when I get home tonight."

Mortimer Quincy was probably busy, as he didn’t reply.

Just then, Roman Chaucer stretched lazily. "Payday at last! Why don’t we go shopping tonight? We could grab a bite to eat, too." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Sandra Marshall and Chelsea York were both single and agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

The three of them turned to look at the married one in their group, Holly Winslow. Sandra Marshall teased, "Teacher Winslow, you don’t have to file a formal request, do you?"

This was their first get-together, so Holly didn’t feel right refusing. She smiled. "A formal request isn’t necessary, but I should still give the man of the house a heads-up."

Chelsea York and the others laughed. Chelsea said, "Teacher Winslow, how about we take you to an incredibly authentic spicy hot pot restaurant tonight? It’s the kind of place where one bite is so good, you’ll feel like you’ve ascended to heaven."

"In that case, I’ll have two bites and ascend," Holly Winslow nodded.

A few minutes later, Mortimer Quincy finally replied: "Honey, I have to work overtime tonight. I’ll make it up to you with a nice meal this weekend."

Holly replied: "Guess I’m abandoning you for tonight, then. I’m going out for dinner with my colleagues. I’ll bring you back some takeout."

Mortimer Quincy: "Sounds good."

At six o’clock, Holly and the others clocked out. They didn’t have any classes scheduled for the evening study session.

The hot pot was as authentic as advertised. Holly’s face flushed red from the spice after just one bite, but it was incredibly delicious.

When women get together, gossip is inevitable. The conversation drifted from which female teacher in the office had a crush on which male teacher to the topic of their students.

"Kids these days are so hard to teach. The other day, a student was playing on their phone during my class. I said a few words of criticism, and the parent called to scream at me. I was so upset I actually cried."

"A handful of parents are like that. Ugh, they spoil their kids rotten now, and it’ll be a disaster later. It’s the hardest when the kid doesn’t know any better and the parent is completely unreasonable."

Holly Winslow agreed. Parents definitely had a significant influence on their children.

She never expected that she would find herself in the same situation so soon.

One day, while checking homework, she discovered that a student hadn’t completed their assignment at home and had just scribbled random answers.

She wasn’t angry at the time. After class, she called him to the office to ask why he hadn’t done his homework.

This particular student had always had a poor attitude toward his studies. He said bluntly, "I didn’t feel like it."

Holly Winslow pressed her lips together. She didn’t enjoy scolding students. She said earnestly, "There are things you have to do at this stage in your life. It’s fine to have fun, but you still need to complete your assignments."

"You’re not doing this for me; you’re doing it for yourself."

The student clearly wasn’t listening. He just grunted, "Oh."

Holly didn’t say anything else and just told him to return to the classroom.

That afternoon, the student didn’t show up for class. She tried calling twice, but no one answered.

Around three or four in the afternoon, while she was in the middle of teaching, a parent stormed into the classroom. "How dare you reprimand my son! What kind of teacher are you?!"

The parent shoved Holly, sending her stumbling back into the lectern. She winced, her brow furrowing in pain. The students in the front row quickly rushed to steady her.

When Shannon Vance heard what happened, she rushed over. She tried to calm the parent down, urging her to discuss the matter civilly.

A few other teachers then escorted the parent to Shannon Vance’s office, with Holly following behind.

The parent pointed a finger at Holly and said harshly, "My son came home this afternoon and refused to go back to class! He said his teacher criticized him and told him not to come to this center anymore!"

Holly pressed her lips together. "I never said that."

"You ’never said that’? Are you trying to say my son is a liar? You’re way too young to be a teacher. Completely unreliable."

"I have no idea how you even got a job at this center. You’d better give me a satisfactory explanation today, or I’m reporting all of you to the Department of Education."

The parent, believing she had the upper hand, became increasingly aggressive.

Sandra Marshall glanced at Holly and sighed to herself. ’We were in the office that day, too. Holly definitely didn’t say anything like that.’

She gave Holly a gentle pat on the arm, a silent gesture of encouragement.

Aside from the pain in her lower back, Holly was fine. She had been teaching for three or four years and had run into situations like this a few times before.

She shook her head to show she was all right.

Shannon Vance frowned as she listened to the parent harp on about Holly’s age. She acknowledged that Holly’s youth might have some drawbacks, but she also knew Holly had outstanding qualities.

She looked at the parent and said, "Teacher Winslow is a graduate of B University’s School of Mathematics. She has her teaching certificate, graduated second in her department, and won first prize in the national collegiate English competition."

"She may be young, but she is exceptional."

Holly was stunned. In all her time as a teacher, no one outside of her family had ever called her exceptional. This was especially true in her past life; even when her students got excellent grades, other teachers would just remark that she had a well-behaved class.

’It was probably because they had all started with four-year degrees and couldn’t admit that someone who had transferred up from a junior college was better than them.’

The parent had heard of B University; it was one of the best universities in the country.

Before the parent could respond, Shannon continued, "We have security cameras in the office. I can pull up the footage for you. But before I do, let me make one thing clear: if Teacher Winslow did in fact say what you claim, I will fire her immediately."

"But if she didn’t, then we can no longer teach your son. We will issue you a full refund for his tuition."

The parent was taken aback. "What kind of way is that to talk? My child has a problem at your center, and instead of resolving it, you’re telling us to unenroll?"

Shannon Vance had been running this center for many years and had seen her fair share of troublesome parents. "If you’re dissatisfied with that, you can call the police."

The parent fell silent. They pulled up the security footage. Although there was no audio, it was clear that Holly’s expression had been gentle throughout the entire conversation. At no point did it look like she was telling the student to stop coming to the center.

After watching the video, the parent knew she was in the wrong and didn’t say another word. Shannon Vance refunded the tuition fee, and once the parent had gone, she asked Holly to stay behind.

"Are you all right?"

Holly shook her head. "I’m fine."

"Do you still want to be a teacher?" Shannon asked earnestly.

Holly smiled. "My passion for it hasn’t changed."

Shannon smiled as well. "That’s good to hear. The truth is, every job is the same. There are good parts and bad parts."

"You’re exceptional. You’ll go much further than I have."

"Go home and get some rest this afternoon. You can come back tomorrow."

Holly’s back was indeed a bit sore, so she nodded. After leaving the center, she sent Mortimer a message letting him know she was heading home early.

Mortimer called her back almost immediately. "What’s wrong?"

The moment she heard his voice, the last bit of gloom in her heart vanished. She giggled. "What could be wrong? It’s not like I got eaten by a ghost."

"I don’t have any classes this afternoon, so I’m just heading home early. I’m going to buy a chicken to make soup for dinner. What time do you think you’ll be off?"

"Honey, you have three classes this afternoon." Mortimer was already very familiar with her schedule. He pressed his lips into a thin line. "Wait for me downstairs. Don’t you move."

Holly only had to wait a minute or two downstairs before she saw Mortimer, dressed in a suit, striding out of the elevator toward her.

Suddenly, a wave of grievance washed over her.

Mortimer walked up to her and studied her face for a few moments, then reached out and gently stroked her hair. "When we get home, I’ll help you let it all out."