Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [112]

These five minutes felt like both an ordeal and an interrogation for Shiina Taki.

As the drummer, she was always positioned at the very back of the stage, meaning that once she sat down, all she could see were her bandmates. She couldn’t get a clear view of the audience’s reactions.

But for Taki, this live performance had already descended into chaos the moment it began. She didn’t even need to see the audience’s expressions to know.

Put it this way—aside from her role as the drummer, she could compare their band to the one Raana’s sister had just performed with.

First, the guitar.

Because... damn that pink-haired guitarist for cracking under pressure first!

"Um..."

Anon, having missed the rhythm and botched the opening notes, turned to her with an awkward expression.

Taki frowned but didn’t say anything.

It’s fine. Anon probably just wasn’t used to performing on stage yet. It was normal for her to be nervous. Taki should be understanding.

So she took a deep breath and, as calmly as possible, turned to the staff member responsible for playing the bass backing track.

"Could you... restart it?"

But did the second try go any better?

Haha, of course not!

Chihaya Anon messed up again—this time, she didn’t even dare say anything. But that was fine… Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

With a single gesture, the performance restarted for a third time.

And then… Haha. Fool me three times, huh?

"..."

This time, Anon seemed to have finally reached her limit. Like a scolded puppy, she turned around and lowered her head in front of Taki, bracing herself for a lecture.

...Sigh.

Seeing this, Taki suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

She knew their practice time had been far too short for Anon. Even though she always complained that Anon was just a clueless beginner, there was no point in saying that now.

But what about the audience? Anon running over and interrupting the performance like this—how were they supposed to handle that? If Soyo were here, she’d probably be able to lighten the mood with a quick MC, right?

Haha... but they didn’t have a bassist on stage today.

Taki felt like she was losing her mind.

"Taki... I..."

"You... Forget it." Taki forced herself to swallow her anger. She knew that if she lost her temper now, not only would the entire live performance be ruined, but more importantly—Sakiko would get the satisfaction of watching her snap.

She couldn’t let that happen. At least not today.

"You’ve been practicing really well. This is just... an ordinary live performance. Don’t worry about it."

Taki had no idea how harshly she’d tear into the pink-haired guitarist once they were offstage, but for now, she needed to calm Anon down.

Even though... she could already hear the sound of people leaving.

Each departing step felt like a drumstick slamming against her heart, suffocating her.

But if she backed down now, it wasn’t just Sakiko she had to worry about—it wasn’t just about whether that girl would see her as some idiot who only knew how to yell at her bandmates.

She wouldn’t even be able to face Soyo.

Then again… maybe it was a good thing Soyo wasn’t here to see this disaster.

If even Soyo had abandoned them, Taki wouldn’t be able to hold on to any shred of hope.

"Anon... water."

At that moment, Tomori—ever the vocalist—walked over, holding a water bottle with a straw.

Seeing this, Taki felt her mood improve slightly. It reminded her of the times back in CRYCHIC when Sakiko used to do the same thing to calm Tomori’s nerves before a performance.

Anon took the bottle and sipped from it like a little hamster. Watching this, Taki suddenly had a thought and cautiously asked:

"You really admire... Chihiro-nee, don’t you?"

"Eh?"

"Look over there." Taki jerked her chin toward the venue entrance, where the red-haired beauty stood. "She probably wants you to play at your best, too."

Of course, it was also possible that Anon’s nervousness came because of her. But maybe that kind of emotion could be turned into motivation.

At least, that’s what Taki had always done—turning her frustration with Sakiko into her own driving force.

Even if... she could never truly match up to Sakiko.

"Ricky..."

"Hmm."

Taki’s lips trembled slightly. She knew they didn’t have much time left. She also knew how pathetic it was that they needed reassurance from their so-called "competition."

"...Let’s keep going."

This was already the fourth attempt.

By this point, Taki had mentally prepared herself for another failure, for the entire live to be forcibly canceled.

But to her surprise, this time, Anon didn’t mess up.

From behind, Taki could still see her stiff posture—her head lowered, eyes locked on the fretboard, terrified of playing the wrong chord.

Stage presence-wise, she was completely crushed by the other band’s guitarist earlier.

But at the very least… it was progress.

Still, Taki didn’t even have time to let out a bitter laugh.

Because... now Tomori was having issues.

"Is it a mic problem?"

"I don’t know… That girl in the frilly dress didn’t have any issues just now, did she?"

"Ugh, let’s just go. This is a mess."

The murmuring from the audience spread like wildfire.

Though Taki, positioned at the back of the stage, couldn’t hear them clearly, Sakiko and Mutsumi—watching from the crowd—definitely could.

But even without hearing them, Taki could already imagine what they were saying. And the words in her head were probably even crueler.

So it really… wasn’t enough?

No bassist. Rhythm guitarist choking at the start. No keyboardist, unlike the previous band. And now, as the drummer, even her drumsticks felt unbearably heavy.

Only Raana was playing normally, keeping the melody from falling apart completely.

Yeah... at least someone was still playing.

Taki’s eyes reddened—not out of admiration for Raana’s persistence, but out of sheer stubbornness.

If they were going to crash and burn, she would at least make sure they played to the end.

She refused to accept the idea that hard work meant nothing compared to talent.

Soyo had always struggled with her own inner battles—that’s why she had written this song, the one both she and Tomori desperately wanted to play.

Raana, once elusive, was now the last pillar holding their sound together.

Tomori was still fighting—despite everything, she was still standing there, trying to sing her heart out.

And Anon… even though Taki always mocked her, she had improved significantly during their studio sessions.

Even without Sakiko, this time...

"You’ve worked hard, too!"

She hit the note?!

Taki’s eyes widened.

Not just her—even Anon turned toward Tomori in shock, though in doing so, she fumbled a few notes.

But the important thing was... had Tomori’s voice finally reached the audience?

Taki thought so—until, with a surge of hope, she played through the final note, stood up to bow, and saw—

The crowd had mostly vanished.

The people who had been drawn in by Chihiro’s performance had all but disappeared.

The only one left—the one person she didn’t want to see—stood there, watching them with a gentle gaze.

Togawa Sakiko.

Yeah.

This live performance had been a failure.

Or rather… it was the worst one of the night.

And they didn’t even have a second song to turn things around.

So… she had lost.

She had lost to that smug-looking Togawa Sakiko.

Haha…

Hahaha...

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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!