The rain that had been falling for several days finally stopped.

Although the sky remained overcast, the morning dampness carried the scent of grass and earth, which was surprisingly invigorating.

Shengming Company's team-building event was canceled due to the storm, which meant everyone got the remaining few days off to do as they pleased.

A few days ago, there had been a series of meetings. Bo He had even represented her supervisor in a small discussion and gave a presentation. It wasn't until today that she finally got a day off to relax and have fun.

She woke up early. Instead of finding her colleagues to hang out with, she changed into her sportswear and went for a jog on the mountain behind the hotel.

The mountain was part of the hotel's property. Although it wasn't a scenic area, its beauty was in no way inferior. The altitude was low, and a round trip could be done in half a day. Hotel guests loved exploring the mountain, so the hotel had specially built a path. It wound its way up, narrow but flat, shaded by trees on both sides, perfect for jogging and strolling.

The days of heavy rain must have left everyone cooped up. Even though the sky wasn't fully bright yet, Bo He could see two or three figures hurrying past along the way, disappearing behind the trees. Around a bend, the path became secluded and quiet again, with a stream murmuring nearby.

Rather than jogging, it was more like Bo He was power walking.

After breaking a sweat, she felt even more energized. The high-strung tension from preparing for meetings over the past few days finally, completely loosened.

Two forks appeared in the path ahead.

One continued upward, while the other turned right, with a pavilion beside it.

Although both led up the mountain, the path on the right had more trees and better scenery.

The sound of a mountain spring also came from that direction.

Bo He took one look and chose the latter.

But this decision lasted only three minutes before she regretted it.

Because three minutes later, she saw someone.

Shengming Company's big boss, comrade Qin Chuan, was sitting imposingly in the pavilion, taking a short rest.

Judging by his attire, he must have also been out for a morning run, and like her, had chosen this path.

It was too late to turn back now.

Qin Chuan noticed someone approaching, lifted his eyes from his phone screen, and met her gaze directly.

Bo He: ...

Last time, she'd gone into the wrong room, and Boss Qin had thought she had ulterior motives. Would he now think she was deliberately creating a chance encounter?

She braced herself and greeted him, "Good morning, President Qin."

Qin Chuan grunted in acknowledgment. "Something you need?"

Bo He: "...No, I'm just passing by on my morning run."

The first ray of dawn filtered through the gaps in the leaves, slowly tracing the contour of Qin Chuan's ear down to his jaw and neck.

Bo He suddenly noticed that the man's skin was fair, even fairer than a woman's with foundation on.

And it wasn't a pale or cold white, but a fairness that flowed with vitality.

Very handsome.

But Bo He quickly averted her gaze.

She was afraid of deepening Boss Qin's misunderstanding.

"President Qin, if there's nothing else, I'll go run over there."

Qin Chuan didn't make a sound.

Bo He took his silence as tacit agreement, turned around, and jogged back the way she came. Her figure quickly disappeared from Qin Chuan's sight.

The Boss Qin, who had been treated like a fearsome beast, belatedly frowned.

His silence just now was because he was recalling another shadow on Bo He.

In the game, "Peppermint Tea," before her gender was revealed, wasn't very talkative. Nor did she pursue fancy outfits like other female players. Every time she logged on, she was either PKing or running dungeons. The content of her chats with Qin Chuan was, nine times out of ten, related to game strategy.

If she hadn't spoken up first, Qin Chuan really wouldn't have believed "Peppermint Tea" was a female player.

Not only did he not believe it, but others on the server, including "Eight Whiskers," surely didn't believe it either.

Even if "Peppermint Tea" was quiet in the game, she was much more talkative than this.

The master and disciple pair never lacked for topics of conversation.

Sometimes it was PK techniques, other times it was the AI of dungeon monsters. Even when it came to some little-known hidden gameplay in a certain map, as long as Qin Chuan asked, "Peppermint Tea" always knew the answer.

Qin Chuan even felt that if "Peppermint Tea" had his financial resources and could stack her character's stats and gear to the peak, she would be truly invincible in the game.

Because "Peppermint Tea" never lacked friends. Even during those few days when the "Shield of Zeus" guild was twisting the truth and hunting them down, many people spoke up for her.

That straightforward and generous master from the game was such a timid and subservient newcomer in reality.

Qin Chuan couldn't quite describe the feeling. It was a bit of disappointment, yet it also seemed to be within his expectations.

Everyone has a preconceived impression of their friends from the virtual world.

Qin Chuan was no exception.

He had an extremely good impression of "Peppermint Tea," but an extremely poor impression of Bo He.

There used to be a clear line between the two.

Now the line was erased. An invisible hand had kneaded them together like dough, like sprinkling Kung Pao chicken on a pizza, making Qin Chuan feel an indescribable awkwardness.

In any case, he probably wouldn't log into the game again.

Whether it was "Peppermint Tea" or "Eight Whiskers," these virtual people and matters would remain in the virtual world, and that would be the end of it.

Thinking of this, Qin Chuan took out his phone and deleted and blocked their last virtual connection—their QQ friendship.

...

Bo He was still lamenting her streak of bad luck.

To run into the boss even while jogging... although they were staying at the same hotel, the probability really wasn't that high.

If she had left a few minutes earlier, or not taken that path, they might not have had to see each other all day.

The rare sunlight was once again obscured by dark clouds at some point.

The depths of the clouds flashed intermittently, accompanied by the rumble of distant thunder. Although no raindrops were falling, it looked like another downpour was imminent.

Bo He didn't have an umbrella, so it wasn't wise to continue upward.

But she didn't want to go back immediately either. Since she hadn't seen Qin Chuan with an umbrella, she took three small steps for every one normal step, moving back slowly to avoid running into her boss on the way back.

The muffled thunder rumbled, one clap after another.

The lightning also grew brighter and brighter.

The surrounding woods were dense. It had to be said, there was some danger.

Bo He felt the lightning overhead was brighter than ever, making her dizzy.

Generally speaking, when this kind of scene appears in a novel, isn't it usually when the protagonist is about to transmigrate?

She still had the leisure for her mind to wander.