Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [107]

…Should she really be hearing this?

Tsuzuki Chihiro frowned. This was probably the last thing Soyo wanted anyone to bring up.

She had never heard Soyo mention her family before.

Of course… Chihiro was the same way. And because she knew what it was like to have things she didn’t want others to pry into, she made it a point to respect other people's privacy.

Soyo was her friend. Even if Soyo had lashed out and pushed her away, Chihiro could tolerate it. But friendship meant respect, and if Soyo didn’t bring something up, Chihiro wouldn’t ask.

Maybe to outsiders, their relationship seemed purely transactional—mutual use and nothing more. But to Chihiro, this was simply the way she navigated her social world.

"Mom… can we talk about this another time?"

But Nagasaki Rina had no intention of stopping. She paused for a moment before continuing:

"Your father… he’s not the man you remember from when you were little, Soyo. I just want you to know… what kind of person he really is."

"And why, after all these years, I never once tried to reconcile with him."

The fact that she had given her daughter an incomplete family had always been a source of pain for Nagasaki Rina.

But when Soyo was younger, Rina had never wanted her to know the truth about her father. A child shouldn’t have to bear the burden of a parent’s sins.

So she chose to hide it.

She didn’t want Soyo to get hurt. She didn’t want her daughter to accidentally let something slip at school and end up being labeled as "the child of a criminal"—or worse, bullied because of it.

But now, Rina felt it was time to tell her the truth.

After all, she had recently received a message from him.

It was sent from a masked, virtual number. Just one sentence: I want to see my daughter.

But Rina couldn’t ignore even the slightest possibility.

If Soyo, unaware of the truth, were to be taken away by Ichinose Teruto… the consequences would be unimaginable.

"The year your father and I got divorced, it wasn’t because he cheated. It wasn’t for any of the reasons people assumed."

"It was because he committed fraud. And he went to prison for it."

"…Huh?"

Tsuzuki Chihiro froze.

All she did was step in for Soyo at dinner, and now she was hearing something this explosive?!

"Because of the people he scammed, the details of the case were never made public—it was kept out of the newspapers to protect the victims’ reputations."

"That was when I learned the truth about him."

"So I divorced him. He wanted to give you some money as compensation, but I refused all of it. None of that money was clean."

"During that time, I worked hard—harder than ever. I wanted to give my daughter a good life."

"I wanted to prove to him… that you don’t need to scam people to live a prosperous life."

"…"

Chihiro remained silent.

Because suddenly, she had a thought.

A thought that was baseless, absurd—just a wild guess, a pointless venting of frustration.

"Your father… he’s been in the UK recently. I traced the masked number he used to contact me—it was sent from somewhere in the UK."

"I doubt he’s changed at all. He says he wants to see you, but there’s no way I’ll give him that chance…"

"…The UK?!"

"Hm? What’s wrong, Soyo?"

Noticing how suddenly agitated her "daughter" was, Rina frowned in confusion.

But Chihiro’s emotions flared up just as quickly as they settled down.

A storm raged inside her heart, but outwardly, she remained perfectly composed.

Right. It’s not like I can say for sure that Soyo’s dad was the one who scammed my parents.

And besides—

I, Tsuzuki Chihiro, am a liar too.

A liar never reveals their true face so easily.

"I understand, Mom." Chihiro smiled.

"Mom… I’m full."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Really full."

"Alright, alright."

Rina was relieved that her daughter had accepted reality so quickly. But she was still worried—less about Soyo’s feelings, and more about the possibility of her getting caught up in adult affairs.

"Soyo… listen to me."

"No matter what, don’t get involved in anything to do with your father."

"This is an adult problem. The adults will handle it."

"…I understand."

Chihiro hesitated for a moment, then nodded—answering in Soyo’s place.

But now, she had a problem.

How was she supposed to tell Soyo about this?

And more importantly…

Would Soyo be able to accept this reality as easily as she had?

"Let’s go. I’ll drive you home."

"Huh?"

Chihiro feigned surprise—though, to be fair, she was a little surprised.

"Mom, aren’t you coming home tonight?"

"Ah… well, I have some things to take care of. If I go home, I won’t have enough time in the morning."

"Got it."

Well then…

This whole performance had gone off without a hitch.

At the very least, she hadn’t been found out.

---

Sunday, May 10, 2020 – 11:30 AM

Soyo had barely gotten any sleep.

It wasn’t until deep into the night that she finally felt tired enough to rest.

But Saturday nights meant different things to different people in this city.

And for someone like Soyo—who constantly wrestled with right and wrong, with what’s done is done and I regret everything—her night had been spent in restless, exhausting self-conflict.

Meanwhile, Chihiro had slept soundly, curled up with her cat-like little sister, using the warmth of her soft body to calm her nerves.

Even after hearing all those vague "truths" from Soyo’s mother, at least she could fall asleep wrapped in the comfort of Rena’s presence.

As for Anon, Taki, and Tomori, they were all anxious about the upcoming live show.

Would their sick bassist even show up?

By comparison, Nina and the others weren’t nearly as nervous.

But Sakiko—who had just gotten home from working at the instrument shop—couldn’t stop thinking about the way Chihiro had looked at her earlier that day.

The sheer intensity in her eyes as she watched her play.

"A live show, huh… Well, I’m definitely not going."

Having just dragged herself out of bed at nearly noon, Soyo rolled her eyes at her chat with Taki.

That girl really had left her alone.

Which, to be fair, was what Soyo had wanted in the first place.

Still, it was time to get some food.

After an entire day of light eating at home, she needed to treat herself.

Staying inside for two days straight would drive her insane.

At least if she went out, the lively atmosphere would distract her from the emptiness inside.

Yoshinoya… No, I might run into Nina and the others. I should go somewhere far away from here.

And definitely not RiNG, either… Oh, I know. There are some good places near CIRCLE. No way Taki and the others would go there today.

Damn. I’m a genius.

Having decided to take a break from her downward spiral, Soyo changed clothes and headed out.

She didn’t know much about CIRCLE.

Just that it had gotten so popular in recent years that its owner had to open RiNG as a second venue.

She had no idea that this very decision—going to CIRCLE—would lead her to a fateful encounter.

An encounter with none other than Chihiro’s grandmother.

"…Chihiro?"

"……"

Hearing someone call out that name, Soyo instinctively flinched.

Then came the correction:

"Ah… or is it Soyo?"

"…Huh?"

Looking at the elderly woman before her—whose features still held traces of a once-beautiful youth—Soyo instantly pieced it together.

Could this be… Chihiro’s grandmother?

Was this… her ultimate stroke of luck as a reborn person?

No way she was letting this chance slip.

If this was an opportunity to finally understand that damn liar…

Then sorry, Chihiro.

But she was going to take it.

"Grandma! What are you doing here? It’s me, Chihiro~"

---

T/N: pffft

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!