“No one would know if I just performed false modesty to be liked.”

The performance is right there: downplay the result, deflect the credit, do the little self-deprecating dance, and the room warms to you. No one would catch it. But you would. False humility is a quiet lie about what you actually did, and a man who lies about his strength to be liked has traded the truth for applause. Receive the credit honestly. That's the harder, cleaner road.