plumnovel Chapter 66 : Rumor Brewing
Chapter 66 : Rumor Brewing
Rumor BrewingWere Cecilia and Gu Yanxi secretly photographed in real life by a Legend of Kaloran player?
The moment she saw the thread's title, a flurry of thoughts flashed through Cecilia's mind.
If it was just clickbait, there wouldn't be this many likes and such a high level of attention. Judging by the current circumstances, the contents of this post were likely true.
In other words, when Cecilia and Gu Yanxi were at the bank earlier today, they actually had their photo taken by a player who recognized them— and it happened without her realizing it at all.
If that was really the case, then this was a bit tricky...
Letting out a soft breath, Cecilia's expression didn't change in the slightest as she silently clicked into the thread.
The poster seemed like a straightforward person. There was no preamble—perhaps they simply didn't know what to say—and just got right to the point by posting two blurry, pixelated photos.
Neither photo was taken from the front. The subjects in the pictures didn't even seem to notice the existence of the camera, making it clear that these shots were indeed taken secretly.
The first photo was especially fuzzy, with shaky focus that made the image even worse. Judging from it, the photographer had definitely been nervous at the time. Even so, you could make out the backs of two girls, one tall and one short, standing one behind the other at the bank's service counter.
The slightly taller girl had long, jet-black hair nearly reaching her waist, held a folded parasol, and wore a white, ankle-length dress. Her straight and fair legs were clad in matching white, high-heeled, lace-up sandals as she stood a few meters in front of the window, staring intently at the back of the other girl.
If the photo had shown only this girl's back, it definitely wouldn't have received so much attention.
Even if her figure was truly eye-catching, in this era of the "internet where black stockings and beauties are everywhere," such girls had long ceased to be rare; at most, a casual viewer would make a cheeky comment like "that's a leg for years" and move on.
After all, the internet has never lacked so-called "back view killers."
People say: seeing the back makes you want to commit a crime, seeing the side makes you want to back off, and seeing the face makes you want to defend yourself—the saying didn't come out of thin air.
In fact, the one who really sparked such lively discussion was the other girl in the picture.
She was a bit shorter, sitting on a plastic round stool at the bank counter, also dressed in a cotton white dress. Her slender legs dangled in the air, left leg forward and right leg behind, as if they were gently swinging.
From this angle, you naturally couldn't see her face.
But shifting your gaze slightly upward, you could spot long, creamy-silver hair tied into two fluffy, high ponytails cascading down her petite back. She appeared energetic and lively, almost like a life-sized classical doll.
Just this slightly blurry view from behind was enough to make people imagine how exquisite her face must be.
By now, Cecilia already understood what had happened.
Maybe it was because she was extremely nervous while opening a bank account, terrified the staff would discover her ID was fake, that she didn't notice anything strange with her usually sharp sixth sense. Either way, there was no doubt: at the bank lobby at noon today, she and Gu Yanxi had been secretly photographed.
The second photo was even blurrier, taken through the bank's glass doors. It showed Cecilia and Gu Yanxi standing under the street trees waiting for a ride after leaving the bank.
At the moment this photo was taken, the photographer was still inside the bank lobby. Compared to the first picture, the distance was even greater—separated by a heavy glass wall—so it was even harder to make out. All that could barely be seen was Cecilia's blurred profile beneath her sunhat, with two silver locks of hair visible along her cheeks.
It was obvious that both photos had been snapped carelessly and without much concern on the shooter's part, probably just put online for laughs on the Legend of Kaloran forum. Yet to the shooter's utter shock, the post shot to the top of the forum's rankings within just a few hours.
[Whoa, not gonna lie, this really does look like our Goddess Cecilia. Caught in a secret photo and you still dare post it? Way to invite disaster quietly! OP, are you not afraid of dying?]
[@Cecilia, (＃funny)(＃teacup)]
[Amazing! Just gonna sit back and grab popcorn for this show.]
[What a moron. If you can't take a proper picture, just don't! Stupid OP, you seriously deserve 4000+]
[I really think that's her! Where did you take this photo?]
(OP's reply: Xijiang City)
[Xijiang? I'm from Xijiang too! OP, come hang out—I'll treat you to dinner!]
[@Cecilia, you're done for. (＃melon-eating)]
[Cecilia's hair is white in real life too? Does she have albinism?]
[The other one must be that female priest, right? What's her name again, something Yan?]
[......]
Farther down, almost every reply was people tagging friends. The number of reposts shot up rapidly, and soon enough, even some well-known streamers, forum lurkers, and veteran team members surfaced to comment.
[As expected of our human Boss Raider from Kaloran Continent—an Ice Queen in real life too. But why wasn't she in a maid outfit? (＃funny)]
[So cute!]
[Cecilia, mommy loves you!]
[I'm hooked! What about you guys?]
.......
Besides all that, many replies asked the OP for details on the photo location, and those who were more proactive had already bought train tickets, heading to Xijiang City.
The thought that the world's top-ranked player lived in the same city as them—and turned out to be a stunningly beautiful, adorable girl—made local and nearby players go wild. Practically frenzied, they kept bombarding the OP for the exact bank's location.
Although the OP seemed scared now and had stopped replying to the thread, Cecilia knew that even with the minimal details in these two pictures—like the scenery outside the street—someone would eventually identify the bank.
In other words, the general area where she and Gu Yanxi lived would soon be exposed to the scrutiny of the entire Internet, and for some time to come, it was likely that a constant stream of "pilgrims" would turn up in the neighborhood.
Gu Yanxi had already read the post earlier. Now she was panicking, and seeing Cecilia silent, she asked worriedly, "What should we do now?"
Sensing Gu Yanxi's unease, Cecilia forced herself to rally, gave a slight reassuring smile, and gently comforted her, "It's not as serious as I thought. Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
.......