PDLP Chapter 54: I just went hiking and people started saying I was dating?
Chapter 54: I just went hiking and people started saying I was dating?
The next morning, when Chen Mo woke up, he felt that all the muscles in his body were sore.
Climbing Mount Emei at night, plus going to the gym the next day, left me with more severe aftereffects than I had imagined.
He struggled to sit up in bed, and the system interface popped up as usual, displaying updated data.
[Brave Lifestyle Contributor Progress Update: 95%]
"It's gone straight to 95%?"
Chen Mo rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
Why did it rise so much this time?
A surge of excitement welled up in Chen Mo's heart.
Only 5% left to complete this phase of the task!
But soon, he discovered a new problem.
In the skill attribute section, my "Beginner Cooking" skill experience points are full, but I haven't leveled up!
[The system detected that the host has met the upgrade requirements for the "Beginner Cooking" skill (100/100 experience points), but the upgrade cannot be completed due to insufficient system level.]
Upgrade Requirement: System Level LV2
Current system level: LV1 (5200/10000)
[Note: Upgrading the system's base level requires Courage Points.]
Without accepting system tasks, the host can gain extra courage points by "facing their true feelings and daring to do what they truly want to do".
Each successful completion of a qualifying action will be rewarded with courage points based on the difficulty and significance of the action.
"So that's how it is..."
Chen Mo seemed to be deep in thought.
No wonder my system level and experience increased so quickly when I completed those temporary tasks.
Those tasks were essentially guiding him to do "brave" things.
Now, the system is giving him clearer guidance.
Even without a mission, as long as he dares to follow his heart and do what he truly wants to do, he can gain courage points on his own, which can be used to upgrade the system level.
This unlocks the upper limit of your other attributes.
"As long as there's a way to improve, that's fine."
Chen Mo felt more confident.
He watched the system interface gradually disappear, got up to wash up, ate a simple breakfast, and then slung his laptop bag over his shoulder and went out.
Today is Monday.
A new week begins, and a new chapter of life as a beast of burden begins.
Actually, he didn't want to be treated like a beast of burden.
However, this system isn't a super-rich system that just gives out money. He still needs to earn money to make a living and can't just lie around doing nothing.
But his state of mind was very different from before.
Before, I just drifted through life, taking it one day at a time. Now, I'm full of anticipation and hope for the future.
At nine o'clock in the morning, Chen Mo arrived at the company on time.
The team members had all arrived and greeted him as he entered.
"Good morning, Team Leader Chen."
"morning."
Chen Mo nodded in response, walked to his workstation, put down his bag, and turned on his computer.
At 9:30 a.m., the Monday group meeting started on time.
Chen Mo stood in front of the whiteboard, clearly reviewing the progress of last week's work and outlining the key tasks for this week.
Actually, many of these things were already discussed last Friday.
But sometimes it's not that he wants to be different; it's just that the company's rules are like that.
"The first round of integration testing of the data interface must be completed by this Friday. Lin Wei, you are responsible for tracking the testing progress and reporting to me in a timely manner."
"Okay." Lin Wei took notes carefully in her notebook.
"Mr. Li, the performance optimization plan for the backend needs to be ready by Wednesday this week. We need to assess its impact on the overall architecture."
"clear."
"besides……"
Soon after the meeting ended, everyone returned to their workstations and got busy.
At lunchtime, Chen Mo had just found a seat by the window when Wang Qing came over with her tray.
She sat down opposite him, smiling, and asked, "Team Leader Chen, you're only now coming to eat?"
"Yeah, I'm rushing to finish a report." Chen Mo said without looking up.
After taking a couple of bites of food, Wang Qing suddenly lowered her voice and asked mysteriously, "By the way, Team Leader Chen, I have a question for you."
"What is it?" Chen Mo looked up at her.
"Did you go hiking last weekend?" Wang Qing blinked, her tone clearly probing.
Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm and said, "Why are you asking this?"
"Hey, just tell me, isn't that right?" Wang Qing urged.
Chen Mo put down his chopsticks, looked at her, and smiled, "Tell me first why you asked that."
Seeing that he didn't answer but instead asked a question, Wang Qing stopped beating around the bush, took out her phone, opened WeChat Moments, scrolled to Lin Wei's posts, and then turned the screen towards Chen Mo.
"Look at this."
Chen Mo leaned closer to take a look.
That was a post Lin Wei made on WeChat Moments yesterday afternoon, with the caption: "Climbing Mount Emei at night, the sea of clouds is my witness, but unfortunately I didn't see the sunrise."
Nine pictures are attached below.
There was a starry sky, a sea of clouds, the golden light of sunrise, and the beams of headlamps on the mountain road...
The last picture is of a man's back.
He stood before the railing of the golden roof, looking up slightly at the sea of clouds in the distance, the morning light outlining his tall and straight figure.
Although it was just a glimpse of his back, Chen Mo recognized him at a glance.
That's myself.
"That back view... it must be you, right?" Wang Qing stared at Chen Mo's face, carefully observing his expression.
Chen Mo was silent for a few seconds, then, without denying it, said, "Yes."
"It really is you!"
Wang Qing's eyes lit up, and she became even more gossipy, saying, "Do you know that everyone is saying in private that you and he are together!"
Because this was the first time anyone had seen a man in her WeChat Moments, even if it was just a picture of your back.
"..."
Chen Mo frowned and said, "We were just hiking together. You guys are being too nosy."
"That's what you might think."
Wang Qing looked at him meaningfully and said, "But you have to trust our women's intuition."
"What kind of intuition?"
"A woman wouldn't ask a man she dislikes to go hiking alone, especially at night to watch the sunrise—such a romantic thing."
Chen Mo felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze, so he looked away and pretended to be clueless, laughing, "I think you guys are overthinking it. He just posted a picture."
"Maybe."
Upon hearing Chen Mo's reply, Wang Qing deliberately dragged out her words, saying, "But at least we can be sure that she definitely has feelings for you, and not just any feelings."
Chen Mo: "..."
"However, we still need to be careful with these kinds of things."
Wang Qing pursed her lips, her tone carrying a hint of reminder, and deliberately said, "Lin Wei is really something, posting something like this on her WeChat Moments without even asking you first."
What if you get recognized by others, and your boss misunderstands and thinks you're dating? That would be disastrous for you.
"It's nothing, you're overthinking it."
Chen Mo waved his hand: "We're completely innocent, no one can say anything about it."
"You always take my kindness for granted."
Seeing that Chen Mo didn't take it seriously, Wang Qing sighed and said, "You'd better be more careful in the future. Lin Wei is not a simple woman."
"..." Chen Mo.
He watched her leave, shook his head helplessly, and muttered to himself, "You're not exactly a simple woman either."
Also, that's how the workplace is; even the slightest thing can be spread like wildfire, it's incredibly gossipy.
Just because I went hiking, people started saying I was dating?
Lin Wei, I don't know if she did it on purpose or it was really an accident.
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