The Parenting Truth

I was at a team-building event with my colleagues, playing Truth or Dare.

The dare was for me to call the person at the top of my WeChat pins and ask to borrow money.

Steeling myself, I made a WeChat video call.

A close-up of my boss's face appeared on the other end.

"Um, can I borrow some money?" I asked, my voice betraying my guilt.

"Hm? Don't you have all the money?" The boss's voice was a deep rumble, as if he had just woken up.

My colleagues stared at me, their faces a picture of utter shock.

I floundered. "...You guys, let me explain!"

But the boss's next sentence hammered the final nail in my coffin: "Taking care of the kid is exhausting. How are you planning to reward me?"

Damn it!

I was only digging myself a deeper hole!

1

"Stella, who are you bringing to the team-building event tonight?"

As soon as work ended, the colleague sitting next to me grabbed my arm and asked curiously.

I thought for a moment. "Just me."

"Huh? Stella, you're not planning to bring your boyfriend?"

My colleague looked visibly disappointed, but she quickly composed herself and linked her arm through mine again, pulling me along to meet up with the others for the event.

They were all chatting happily, while I looked down at my phone to send a message.

'After the team dinner, we'll probably play some games for a while,' I thought. 'Looks like there's no way I'm getting home early tonight.'

Sure enough, after a few drinks, everyone became noticeably more lively.

"Quick, quick! Truth or Dare! Everyone, let's play!"

Seeing that they were determined not to leave until they'd had their fun, I lowered my gaze to the wine bottle on the table that was being used as a spinner and prayed silently.

'Please don't let it land on me!'

I don't know if my prayers worked for a bit, or if the deity I was praying to fell asleep later on, but after a few rounds, it was finally my turn.

"Stella Linden! It finally landed on you!"

I watched in silence as the bottle spun and came to a steady stop, the mouth pointing directly at me.

The cheers of my colleagues erupted around me.

I couldn't help but sigh.

'Looks like I couldn't escape Truth or Dare tonight after all.'

"I choose dare."

I spread my hands, deciding to just throw in the towel and go with it.

'I've always gotten along well with my colleagues, so they probably won't make things too difficult for me.'

Sure enough, the words had barely left my mouth when a colleague eagerly announced the dare.

"Call the person at the top of your WeChat pins and ask to borrow money from them!"

I was speechless.

'Oh, that's easy.'

'I have plenty of people pinned on WeChat. I can just pick any one of them.'

I decisively picked up my phone. Just as I unlocked the screen, my colleague added ominously,

"Siblings and parents don't count."

I was utterly baffled.

My gaze fell on my WeChat home screen. In my pinned chats, aside from my parents, there was only one other person.

A person I couldn't exactly reveal in front of my colleagues.

"Huh, Stella, why is the boss pinned on your WeChat?"

A colleague leaned in close, her eyes wide with surprise as she stared at my phone screen.

The corner of my mouth twitched.

"It's just convenient for receiving the boss's messages."

'That damn jerk must have pinned his own chat again when I wasn't looking.'

I couldn't help but grind my teeth.

"Her pinned chat is the boss? Now this is going to be fun!"

The other colleagues didn't think much of it and just egged me on, telling me to video call the boss and ask for money.

I took a deep breath and, steeling myself, made the video call.

Maybe because it was so late, he didn't answer right away. The call only connected after more than ten seconds.

In an instant, the boss's face filled my phone screen.