Chapter 276 - 104: Truth or Dare, Giving Birth

The Shen and Jiang families arrived quickly; they were there less than ten minutes after Jiang Li made the call.

However, before Jiang Bowen and Jing Shiyun stepped onto the lawn, Shen Yanzhi intercepted them. "Dad, Mom, Xiao Li is finally getting a chance to have some barbecue. Please don’t give her a hard time about it later."

Jiang Manshu and Shen Yugang were fine; they weren’t ones to interfere too much with Jiang Li’s diet.

But Jiang Bowen and Jing Shiyun were different. They would drone on and on almost every time Jiang Li ate things like hotpot or barbecue.

That was why ever since Jiang Li started her prenatal classes, she hadn’t had Jiang Bowen and Jing Shiyun over.

Plus, with Jing Shiyun’s leg injury, she had been recuperating for over half a year and was only just about recovered. She hadn’t visited much, and they mostly just video-called.

Jing Shiyun teased, "Listen to you, being so protective. We’re not unreasonable people. She’s about to give birth, so having it just this once is no big deal."

Jiang Bowen nodded in agreement. "Exactly. If she wants to eat, she can eat. It’s not like we’re going to stop her, are we?"

Only then did Shen Yanzhi let out a sigh of relief. He smiled and said, "Of course not. I was just afraid you’d lecture her if you saw."

Jing Shiyun lifted her chin. "Let’s go."

She couldn’t help but sigh. "Ever since I hurt my leg, I haven’t had anything with strong flavors. I’ve been craving barbecue for ages."

Jiang Bowen couldn’t help but say, "Well, that was for your own good."

Jing Shiyun pursed her lips. "I didn’t say anything. Why are you getting so worked up?"

Jiang Bowen didn’t argue. He just called out to Shen Yanzhi, "Xiao Shen, look at your mother-in-law. She’s being completely unreasonable."

Shen Yanzhi scratched his head awkwardly. "Well, they say online that you should never try to reason with a woman."

Jing Shiyun shot Jiang Bowen an irritated look. "See? Even Xiao Shen understands things better than you do."

Afraid of getting caught in the crossfire, Shen Yanzhi pointed to the nearby barbecue grill. "I’ll go grill the meat."

With that, he turned and walked away without a second thought, not giving Jiang Bowen a chance to stop him.

Jiang Manshu and the others were already seated. Seeing Jiang Bowen and Jing Shiyun, she immediately called out a greeting, "Brother Jiang, Sister Yun."

Zhong Mufeng also greeted them, "Uncle, Auntie."

Jing Shiyun greeted everyone in return as Jiang Bowen helped her sit down. "It’s been a long time since we’ve had such a lively gathering," she said.

Jiang Manshu nodded. "It really has."

Between Jiang Li’s pregnancy and prenatal classes and Jing Shiyun’s leg injury, the two families hadn’t been able to gather like this.

She glanced at Jiang Li’s belly and smiled. "Oh, it’s going to get a lot livelier from now on."

’After all, once the baby is born, they’ll definitely be visiting all the time. How could it not be lively?’

Listening to Jiang Manshu and Jing Shiyun chat, Jiang Li snapped her fingers. "Just sitting around is a little boring," she suggested. "How about we play a game?"

Jing Shiyun looked over at her. "What game did you have in mind?"

Jiang Li grinned. "Let’s play a favorite of us young folks: Truth or Dare."

Jiang Manshu’s eyebrows shot up, her interest piqued. "Oh? Truth or Dare, how do you play? That sounds like fun."

Jiang Li explained earnestly, "The rules are simple. We all sit in a circle and put a beer bottle in the middle. We spin it, and whoever the bottle points to has to choose: Truth or Dare."

"If you pick Dare, you can choose one yourself from a mini-app. If you pick Truth, the person who spun the bottle gets to ask a question. You have to answer honestly—no lying allowed."

Jing Shiyun nodded thoughtfully. "That does sound interesting."

Jiang Li rubbed her hands together in anticipation. "So? You guys in?"

’Either way, we’re just waiting. We can wait while chatting, or we can wait while playing a game. Obviously, playing a game while we wait is the better option.’

The game began. As the one who suggested it, Jiang Li spun the bottle first.

The first victim was Jing Shiyun.

Jiang Li’s eyes lit up. "Mom, will you choose Truth or Dare?"

Jing Shiyun thought for a moment, then, playing it safe, said, "Truth."

Jiang Li immediately pulled out her phone, opened an app, and found a Truth or Dare spinner. She tapped "Truth" and read the result aloud: "Tell us something you never dared to tell your parents."

This made Jiang Li even more curious. She blinked, staring intently at Jing Shiyun. "Go on."

She paused, then added, "If you don’t want to say, you can take a drink instead."

Jing Shiyun cleared her throat a couple of times. "When I was a kid," she said, "I wanted new shoes, but my old pair was too sturdy to wear out. So I deliberately scuffed them up myself."

Jiang Manshu’s eyes widened in disbelief. "I can’t believe it," she said, amazed. "I thought I was the only one who’d ever done that!"

Jing Shiyun looked torn between laughter and tears. "What choice did I have? Shoes were made so well back then; a single pair could last ten years. It’s not like now, where they might only last a few months."