Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [119]

The situation… had completely flipped.

Watching Soyo’s slightly sweaty expression, Tsuzuki Chihiro couldn’t help but hum in satisfaction internally.

At times like this, you had to go for the kill—push forward and secure victory.

“Actually, Mutsumi didn’t lie to you. Sakiko did play the piano.”

“Then…”

“But it was only because she couldn’t suppress her feelings anymore. She wants to be back with everyone so badly that when she heard you all were performing, she was itching to join in but was too embarrassed to say it outright."

“So I figured this was a chance—a way for Sakiko to satisfy that craving for band life while also letting her see how much effort you all were putting in.”

Since they were walking as they talked, by the time Chihiro finished speaking, she and Soyo had already stepped into the elevator of Soyo’s apartment building.

Of course, Chihiro didn’t run into Subaru in the elevator today. Not that it would’ve made much of a difference if she had.

“I did keep a lot from you… but I figured that as long as the end result was something you could accept, the process could be a little complicated."

“So yes, Sakiko knew that Taki and the others were going to perform. But… I didn’t tell her you had anything to do with it.”

Hearing that, Soyo suddenly realized something and frowned, suspicion creeping into her voice.

“Wait a second. That doesn’t add up.”

“What doesn’t?”

“You told Sakiko we were going to perform live—but how could you be sure I wouldn’t go on stage and blow your cover? Wait… don’t tell me—”

Ah, perfect.

A truly skilled schemer didn’t need to convince their “master” with explanations—let them figure it out on their own.

Though, even if Soyo hadn’t connected the dots, Chihiro would’ve made sure she did.

“That’s right. It was all part of the plan.”

As the elevator slowly ascended, Soyo felt like something invisible was pressing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. She turned her eyes to the girl standing beside her.

“I deliberately created a reasonable excuse for you to withdraw at the last minute—especially since this excuse came from Taki herself. And with me managing things on Tomori and Anon’s end, and Raana being someone who just goes with the flow, even if you didn’t show up to yesterday’s live, no one would’ve blamed you."

“As for me—the one you kicked out—I stayed up all night practicing so that the bass wouldn’t ruin Taki and the others’ performance. I only pulled it off after being pushed to my limit by Taki, recording over and over again until it was perfect."

“I even injured my fingers trying to mimic your old fingerstyle technique from CRYCHIC.”

“You got hurt?”

Soyo instinctively reached out and took Chihiro’s soft, slender hand, but Chihiro immediately pulled away.

“Eh? But there’s no wound…”

“Yeah, why do you think that is?” Chihiro tilted her head, staring at the ceiling of the elevator. “Probably because I knew someone would see and think I was playing the victim, so I covered it up with makeup.”

T-this wasn’t right…

Soyo couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being toyed with, but under the weight of the conversation, she couldn’t bring herself to voice any doubts.

Wait—

“Hold on. Didn’t Taki already figure everything out? If that’s the case, why would she let you record in my place?”

Had she… been deemed obsolete already?

Even that band didn’t need her anymore?

“Who told you she figured out the truth?”

“Huh?” Soyo blinked, stunned by Chihiro’s response. “But that day, you—”

“I was running around like crazy, and when you called me home, I thought something had happened to you, so I dropped everything and rushed back."

“And then you—cold as ice, treating me like that. Come on, I’m a girl too. I do have feelings, you know?”

Did Chihiro… have vulnerable moments?

Well, she thought she did. But definitely not when facing Soyo.

“You mean…”

“I’ll just tell you straight—Taki thought you’d completely lost your mind and that I was your second personality.”

“…What?”

Ding.

The elevator stopped at the top floor.

Soyo hesitated for a moment before stepping out. She glanced at Chihiro, who had followed her out, confusion still clouding her face.

“Taki’s… okay, right? What kind of bizarre conclusion is that?!”

“Well, that’s just what she believes. What can I do about it?” Chihiro shrugged. “When I found out what she was thinking, of course, I played along. I couldn’t exactly tell her the truth—after all, I promised someone to keep it a secret."

“Oh, by the way, you didn’t go running off to explain things to her like an idiot, did you?”

“I… I wouldn’t be that dumb! Actually, I kind of figured she might’ve misunderstood something…”

Even though Soyo knew she had been in the wrong, she still refused to back down on principle. She planted a hand on her hip, forcing herself to look confident.

When you had no way out, you had to make one.

But with that, all of Soyo’s previous doubts… seemed to have been resolved.

Sakiko and Mutsumi hadn’t formed a new band. Mutsumi had simply come to watch her friends perform. Sakiko, on the other hand, had been standing there, lost in nostalgia, watching Taki and the others play—trying to work through the pain of having left the band in the first place.

It was a stark contrast to the cold, indifferent Sakiko from last time… but then again, back then, Soyo had never really understood what Sakiko was thinking.

And as ridiculous as Taki’s beliefs sounded—her theories about split personalities and fake study-abroad plans—everything was, in the end, unfolding just as Chihiro had planned.

Which meant…

From the start, she had been overthinking everything.

She hadn’t understood Sakiko.

She hadn’t understood Chihiro.

She hadn’t even realized the mess she had caused for Taki.

Meanwhile, Chihiro had been acting like some kind of unparalleled genius strategist—anticipating everything, staying ten steps ahead.

Even after being misunderstood by her own family and forced to leave home… she had still honored their agreement.

“…But now that I think about it, maybe I really shouldn’t have meddled in all of this. I mean, you did say the contract’s already over.”

“Wait, no—”

Soyo panicked, rushing forward to grab Chihiro’s hand.

“Chihiro, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have doubted you."

“The contract… We can…”

“Forget it.”

Chihiro shook her head.

“Weren’t you going to count up my ‘sins’? From the moment I left home and the first person I ran into was you, standing there mocking me… I figured maybe it was time to let go of some things."

“Sorry for following you around—I just didn’t want you to stay in the dark."

“You’ll do just fine getting them back without me."

“So… I won’t get in your way anymore.”

“Wait—Chihiro, don’t go!”

Soyo lunged forward in a panic.

But the next thing she knew, her knees buckled under some kind of invisible force—sending her crashing down toward the hem of Chihiro’s skirt.

And this time, her knees didn’t hit the floor…

Because she had grabbed Chihiro’s long skirt—pulling it right down.

“……”

“……”

Chihiro’s face darkened as she yanked her skirt back up, silently fixing it into place.

“…Stand up. And take off your skirt.”

“Eh?”

“You did something wrong, so you get punished. You used to like spanking me, didn’t you?"

“Well, now it’s your turn.”

“But we’re outside! What if the neighbors hear?”

Neighbors? What neighbors?

Chihiro nearly laughed.

The apartment across from this one was her new home.

If anyone was going to hear, it’d just be her.

“That’s enough backtalk. If you don’t want to do it… I’m leaving.”

She turned to go.

Though in reality, she was just about to unlock the door to her apartment.

But to Soyo, it felt completely different.

“…Then can you… take it easy?”

---

T/N: OMGGGGG THEYRE BOTH FREAKSSSSSSSSSS AAAAAAAAAAAAA

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!