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.

2

I steeled myself and pretended not to know him well.

"Um, Boss, could I borrow some money?"

I deliberately stressed the word "Boss," hoping Jensen Sterling would get the hint and play along!

But he must have been half-asleep, because he just blurted out, "Huh? Don't you have all the money?"

Me: "..."

My colleagues started giving me strange looks.

I cleared my throat loudly, about to smooth things over, when Jensen Sterling spoke again.

"I'm tired from watching the kid. How are you going to reward me?"

I decisively hung up the phone, determined not to let Jensen Sterling say another word!

'He was really something else! The more he tried to help, the worse he made it!'

The looks my colleagues were giving me were all wrong!

I gave a weak, guilty smile under their suspicious gazes.

Seeing their eyes practically glued to me, inspiration struck, and I quickly said, "What's with those looks? The boss is obviously drunk!"

"What, you think I could actually marry Mr. Sterling? If that were true, why would I be working myself to death every day? You're giving me way too much credit..."

I said it with heartfelt sincerity.

My colleagues exchanged stunned glances, then breathed a collective sigh of relief. "That's true."

"A man of Mr. Sterling's status would marry a lady from a wealthy family, if anyone."

"Exactly! If any of us could marry Mr. Sterling, who would still be here putting up with this crap every day? I'd go home and just rot. Who wouldn't love a life of just eating and waiting to die!"

As a few colleagues started bantering back and forth, the others finally bought my explanation.

I let out a huge sigh of relief inwardly. The colleague next to me immediately patted my shoulder with a look of grave sympathy.

"Stella, you're going to get chewed out tomorrow."

Me: "?"

I still hadn't processed what he meant, and I looked at him in confusion.

Another colleague immediately chimed in, "You just broadcasted Mr. Sterling's drunk PDA session... Tsk, good luck, Stella."

Me: "..."

I finally understood what they were talking about.

But Jensen Sterling...

My mouth twitched.

'Getting him to scold me would be harder than getting him to resign as CEO.'

We've been childhood sweethearts for years, and in all our time dating and being married, he's never once even gotten angry with me.

'I figured the odds of him actually scolding me were pretty low.'

But my colleague's words reminded me that if he *didn't* scold me, the whole thing would look too suspicious.

My feelings were suddenly a complicated mess.

The moment I got home, I stormed into the room, grabbed Jensen Sterling, and started shaking him violently.

"What the hell were you spouting on that video call! Do you have any idea how socially dead I am in front of my colleagues now?!"

Jensen Sterling was lying on the bed reading. Hearing this, he just grinned and said, "What's the big deal? This is the perfect chance for us to go public. Then I can show you off openly!"

'Looking at his excited expression, I started to wonder if getting a divorce right now would solve the problem.'

Jensen Sterling nonchalantly put his book down.

He tilted his head up, gave me a slight smile, and then, with a firm tug, pulled me into his arms.

Before I could even brace myself, he had me pinned on the bed.

The next morning, I slowly woke up in Jensen Sterling's arms.

3

Jensen Sterling, surprisingly, didn't get up early today.

He's usually much busier than I am, so I normally sleep in while he gets up and heads to the office.

I was still a bit dazed when I saw the faint smile on his face.

It wasn't until he leaned in for a kiss that I suddenly remembered what happened yesterday.

"Jensen Sterling! We're not done with yesterday's business! You have to give me a harsh scolding when you get to the office today, you hear!"

Jensen Sterling looked at me teasingly, completely unconcerned. "Oh? And how would you like me to scold you?"

He leaned in close to my ear and whispered, "Like last night?"

My face instantly turned red.

I shoved him away and scrambled out of bed, putting distance between myself and this indecent man!

Jensen Sterling laughed heartily.

I couldn't be bothered with him. I quickly changed and went downstairs, ready to give my son, whom I hadn't seen all day, a big kiss.

My son, Chase Sterling, is already four years old this year.

He's perfect in every way—cherubic, well-behaved, and bright—just a little too clingy.

Normally, those two are always bickering over who gets a few more minutes of my attention.

And sure enough, the moment I got downstairs, my son was already leaping into my arms.

"Mommy! You didn't come give me a goodnight kiss last night!"

I hugged my son as he looked up at me, his big, dark eyes brimming with grievance.

I found it a little funny and patted his head. "Mommy got home too late yesterday, and you were already asleep. How about I make it up to you today, okay?"

"No!"

Jensen Sterling's voice suddenly cut in.

Before I could react, he had already lifted our son out of my arms and pulled me into his own.

"Why should my wife give you a goodnight kiss? She has me, and that's enough!"

Jensen Sterling felt no shame whatsoever about getting jealous and vying with a child for attention.

The moment his feet touched the floor, our son started protesting indignantly.

"Daddy, you've been hogging Mommy for days! It's my turn for her to spend time with me!"

Jensen Sterling immediately tightened his grip on me, eyeing our son with a vigilant look.

"No way! If you want someone to keep you company, go find your own wife! Why should my wife keep you company!"

"You...!"

Our son's face turned red with anger.

But he was just a little kid with a limited vocabulary; of course he couldn't win an argument against Jensen Sterling.

I pressed a hand to my forehead, my head aching. 'These two probably have the same mental age,' I thought.

I pushed Jensen Sterling away and gave him a disdainful look. "You're a grown man, picking a fight with a child. Have you no shame?"

Jensen Sterling immediately put on an aggrieved expression.

He mumbled quietly, "What's so shameful about fighting for my own wife? Even a kid shouldn't be allowed to steal another man's wife."

I shot him an amused glare, then picked up our son and went straight to the dining table to get ready for breakfast.

Jensen Sterling followed behind me. As he sat down, he shot a glare at our son, who responded by making a defiant, goofy face at him.

I put a fried egg on each of their plates.

I sincerely hoped the food would shut them up.