Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [113]

"You’re sure... this is your home address?"

Tsuzuki Chihiro wasn’t sure if this high-end Roppongi apartment complex was the only one in the area, but she was sure that the place Subaru had led her and Nina to was definitely Soyo’s building.

As for why they didn’t bring Momoka along? Ahem... well, Momoka had work, so that was that.

But seriously—do rich people not have any other options besides luxury apartments?!

And more importantly, how had she never run into Subaru downstairs while she was freeloading at Soyo’s place before?

Chihiro rubbed her temples. She was too exhausted to bother thinking about these little things. Today had already been way too complicated.

The moment Anon and the others’ live performance ended, Chihiro immediately sensed a heavy, suffocating atmosphere hanging over them.

Except for little Raana, who ran up to her like nothing had happened, clinging onto her for dear life until she’d fully recharged her "big sister energy" and "guitar energy" before finally heading home.

But for the others, even from a distance, it was obvious that something was off.

Anon’s situation wasn’t even the worst, and when Chihiro had considered going over to her, the girl had practically begged her with her eyes to stay away.

What was Chihiro supposed to do? In that moment, her position didn’t really make it appropriate for her to intervene.

As for little Sakiko, who had been watching the show from the audience? She simply sent Chihiro a message expressing her amusement before leaving with Mutsumi…

That damn octopus! Did she even realize what kind of mess she had caused?!

"Chihiro, have you been here before?"

Hearing Nina’s curious voice from the elevator, Chihiro blinked and then sighed, curling her lips into a half-smile.

"Mm... something like that. But I had no idea Subaru lived here too."

No matter how many problems there were, they had to tackle them one at a time—panicking wouldn’t help.

Only those who lacked stability and a sense of the bigger picture would let things like this throw them off.

For Chihiro, no matter how many problems there were, there were always more solutions.

Besides, Subaru wouldn’t have called her and Nina here if it weren’t for something important.

Most likely... it was about next week’s filming.

With a soft ding, the elevator arrived on the first floor. Chihiro noticed that Subaru pressed the button for the 36th floor.

Thankfully, at least, they weren’t living directly below Soyo’s unit.

Because no matter how good the building’s soundproofing was, the idea that Subaru had been right downstairs while she and Soyo were bickering on the bed...

Yeah, that was a bit weird.

"This is my place."

"Excuse us..."

Subaru handed them each a pair of slippers. While Chihiro had already seen her fair share of luxury apartments, Nina’s reaction was more like that of a country girl visiting a grand estate for the first time.

"Whoa... this is amazing..."

"You get tired of it pretty quickly."

Subaru didn’t have much to say about her own home. This wasn’t even the biggest unit in the complex—she just liked the split-level design because it made the place feel more like a cozy little hideaway.

She took a bottle of chilled orange juice from the fridge, filled three glasses with ice, and set them on the table before turning to Chihiro, who was lounging on the couch with her legs crossed, and Nina, who looked like she was melting into the floor.

"That thing’s great for gaming." Subaru gestured toward the massive wall-mounted TV opposite the sofa. "But I do watch the occasional drama on it too."

With that, she picked up the remote and turned on the TV.

A scene from an old Showa-era film appeared on the screen.

The actress on-screen was stunning, and her features bore a striking resemblance to Subaru’s.

"That’s your grandmother, isn’t it?"

"Mm." Subaru nodded and smiled. "Actually, I wanted to tell Nina about this today. And of course, I thought Chihiro might be interested in seeing these old clips too."

"Grandma started her career really young—probably while she was still in school."

As she spoke, the film’s title appeared on the screen: "Subaru."

"This is where my name comes from. Maybe Grandma thought it would bring our family good luck."

Subaru fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

"I rarely saw Grandma smile back then. But the moment I told her I wanted to act alongside her in a drama, the way she smiled...

It was beautiful."

"Really..."

"Chihiro, you get it, don’t you?" Subaru turned to her. "Grandma told me some things about your grandma. Seems like they were... a pretty special pair of friends."

"Yeah. She always smiled when she watched me and Raana play guitar." Chihiro’s voice softened.

"After all, my dad and Raana’s mom... neither of them really followed in her footsteps in the industry."

"Exactly. And that’s why..." Subaru hesitated before meeting Chihiro’s gaze.

"I need your help with something."

"Oh?"

Hearing that, Chihiro suddenly smirked mischievously.

"You do know I don’t come cheap, right~?"

"Wait, wait, what are you guys talking about?"

"You just sit there and listen, Nina. You’re no help anyway." Subaru casually tossed a pillow at her, nailing her square in the head.

As Nina slumped over in mock defeat, Subaru let out a string of laughter before turning back to Chihiro, her expression growing serious.

"Chihiro... I don’t want to disappoint Grandma. But I also don’t want to..."

"You don’t want to give up the band, right?"

"...Yeah."

"Wow. Greedy, aren’t you?"

But Chihiro wasn’t one to judge—she was greedy too.

She always wanted everything to turn out perfectly.

She wanted everyone to be happy.

"How about this? I disguise myself as you and go film in your place. That way, you’ll have more time for band practice."

"...Huh?"

Subaru blinked.

Of all the possible solutions she had expected, this was... insane.

"Wait, hold on!"

And Nina—who had finally caught on—nearly fell off the couch in shock.

"If that’s the case, then the ‘Soyo’ I met before... was that actually you, Chihiro?!"

"Ding ding! Correct. But no prize, sorry~"

"But—but—the height! The body shape! Ah! They are similar!" Nina’s eyes widened in realization.

"But you and Subaru are totally different heights! You’d get exposed immediately!"

"That’s not a problem," Chihiro said smoothly. "We just need Subaru to start wearing taller shoes now—use acting as an excuse to make her ‘height change’ more believable. Then, by the time I step in, it won’t seem suspicious at all."

"...What about your voice?"

"You mean this voice?" Chihiro smirked and effortlessly mimicked Subaru’s tone.

"Whoa, that’s amazing!"

"..."

As Nina marveled at Chihiro’s disguise skills, Subaru, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

"Sorry... I can’t do it."

"Why?"

Seeing Chihiro’s unfazed expression—even smiling, as if she expected this answer—Subaru understood.

"Because acting alongside Grandma... is something I want to do myself."

"I see~" Chihiro chuckled. "Then I get it now."

Chihiro understood.

Subaru wasn’t like Soyo.

Soyo might have allowed a switch like this to happen.

But Subaru... was different.

And yet…

The more Chihiro saw her struggle, the less she could bring herself to leave this stubborn, problem-ridden, helpless little widow alone.

---

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!