Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [117]

"Did you pack everything?"

Standing outside the bedroom door was Chihiro’s grandmother, Tsuzuki Shifune.

Today was the deadline—the one she and her grandmother had agreed on last week.

Which meant… starting today, Chihiro had to figure out what she wanted to do with her life.

And her answer? Moving out.

Living at her grandmother’s house wasn’t bad.

But there were still a lot of things she had yet to take care of, and staying here meant having to report everything to her family.

It was just too much trouble.

"Mm… What about Raana?"

"She’s sulking in her room."

Shifune rolled her eyes.

Honestly, if it were up to her, she’d prefer her granddaughter to just stay home.

It wasn’t like she had many other wishes in life—just that one.

But since Chihiro had made up her mind, there wasn’t much she could do.

Even if her granddaughter still had some resistance to the idea of going back to school, Shifune believed that what mattered most was doing what you truly wanted.

Of course… if possible, she still hoped Chihiro would return to school.

"I’ve pretty much packed everything… The guitar, though…"

Chihiro hesitated.

She wasn’t sure if she should bring it.

She had already packed a Soyo-matching bass in her suitcase.

Would bringing the guitar be overkill?

And besides…

She wasn’t even sure if she’d ever get the chance to play it again.

"Take it with you."

Shifune smiled.

She didn’t believe for a second that her granddaughter would actually give up on the instrument she loved so much.

Sure, these past few years in the UK had been full of setbacks—

But as someone who had spent decades in the music industry, Shifune knew better than to make early judgments.

Besides, her granddaughter was still so young.

At 16 years old, being as skilled as she was on guitar was already practically cheating.

If she hadn’t made waves, it definitely wasn’t due to lack of talent.

In fact, talent was probably the least of her problems.

"Speaking of which, that Soyo kid came over for dinner yesterday."

"Huh?"

"I didn’t explain things too clearly at the time, so she probably thought I mistook her for you."

Shifune chuckled.

"I recall… she lives in Roppongi, right?"

"Uh… yeah, I think so."

Chihiro had a weird feeling about this.

Her grandmother was smiling, but there was something… off about it.

"As for where you’ll be living… of course, it has to be somewhere nice."

Chihiro narrowed her eyes.

"Grandma… you didn’t—"

"Mmm, it’s in the same building as Soyo."

"I—"

THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT OF MOVING OUT?!

She’d be dragging her suitcase right back to where she started!

Fine, she told herself.

As long as it’s not the same floor…

Wait.

Did her grandmother even know which floor Soyo lived on?

"Oh, I didn’t ask about that," Shifune replied, shaking her head.

"So I just picked a random unit for you. It’s a bit high up, but it has a rooftop balcony… I thought you might enjoy the view."

"…"

Great.

She had gone from temporary sugar baby to Soyo’s new neighbor.

Fun.

On her way back from Tsukinomori, Chihiro had received a message from Taki.

Apparently, after the disastrous live performance, they were all getting a short break.

Which… seemed suspicious.

If not for that, she wouldn’t have had this sudden free time to prepare for her move.

And Raana wouldn’t be sulking at home with her grumpy little cat face.

"Alright, keep packing. Don’t forget to put anything important in your suitcase."

"Does that mean I can put Raana in the suitcase?"

"Heh. Try it and see if your ass doesn’t end up sore."

"Haha, just kidding~"

As the door clicked shut, Chihiro sat cross-legged on the floor, stuffing skirts and tights into her suitcase.

For a brief moment, her hands paused.

She glanced out the window, reminiscing about when she used to sit by the window as a child, staring down at the street below.

Her father, Tsuzuki Kohei, had rarely smiled.

He was the kind of man who always lost arguments with her mother, Tsuzuki Aya.

As a kid, she had hated the after-school lessons her father had arranged for her.

She would cry, run away from home, and hide out at her grandmother’s house.

And from there, through the thick, soundproof windows, she would watch her parents arguing downstairs.

But what had they been arguing about?

She never knew.

After all, their house had excellent soundproofing—courtesy of her grandmother’s career in the music industry.

Inside the house, it was like an entirely different world.

No matter how much yelling happened outside…

Wait.

What the hell?

Chihiro leaned over the windowsill—

And actually saw someone flailing around down below.

Oh, for the love of—

Why is Soyo here AGAIN?!

It wasn’t exactly flailing.

Soyo was pacing back and forth, running her hands through her hair like a madwoman.

Occasionally, she stomped the ground in what could only be described as an outburst of impotent rage.

"Has she finally lost it? I should probably record this for the memories."

Chihiro had no idea what Soyo was so worked up about.

But she was sure that she was here to find her.

Still, before heading downstairs to deal with her directly—

She had to get this on video.

This would make perfect blackmail material for Taki.

Just look at Soyo—muttering to herself, yanking at her hair, practically malfunctioning.

There was no way anyone watching this would think she was mentally stable.

After recording the clip, Chihiro quickly finished packing.

Before leaving, she made one last decision.

Between the bass and the guitar—

…She chose both.

Because no one ever said she couldn’t just sling the guitar on her back.

Exiting her room, she stopped by Raana’s door, knocking lightly to say goodbye.

Then, with a sigh, she made her way downstairs.

---

Meanwhile, Soyo was still pacing below, debating how best to drag Tsuzuki Chihiro out of her house.

If she knocked on the door, she might run into Raana or Shifune.

But just as she was hesitating—

The door swung open.

Panicked, Soyo immediately ducked into a corner.

She peeked out, expecting to see Chihiro smirking at her like an absolute menace.

But instead…

What she saw shocked her.

Chihiro was pulling a suitcase.

Her expression looked lost.

…Sad, even?

Wait. What?

Did she… get kicked out?!

She had just come home a few days ago, and she was already running away after fighting with her family?!

HAHAHA.

This was karma.

Soyo’s frustration evaporated in an instant.

In its place was pure, unfiltered confidence.

Then, just as Chihiro finally spotted her and feigned fake surprise—

Soyo put on her best act.

Feigning her own surprise, she strolled up casually.

"Oh my, oh my… isn’t this Tsuzuki-san?"

She let out a mock gasp.

"And where might you be headed, hmm~?"

---

T/N: hehe poor Soyo

This is a fan translation of 素世同学，恭喜你被我优化了 by 杰克喵. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!