Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [186]

"Rina-chan~ Good morning!"

"Oh, if it isn’t our energetic little Chihiro!"

Nagasaki Rina had already prepared breakfast for three when she opened the door for her daughter and Chihiro. But the moment she saw the adorable and charming Chihiro greeting her so enthusiastically, all of her earlier worries disappeared.

What a wonderful child—cute yet mature, full of energy yet reliable, just perfect in every way…

Honestly, how did Soyo get so lucky? To have such an amazing friend like her…

"Mom, how did you sleep last night?"

Nagasaki Soyo cautiously pulled out a chair and sat down, a bit nervous as she asked, "Did you hear anything… strange?"

"Strange sounds? No, nothing like that."

Hearing that, the girl let out a long breath of relief—only to shoot a sharp glare at the grinning Chihiro beside her.

So this girl had tapped on the wall last night just to mess with her? She had known all along that her mom wouldn’t hear anything?

Thinking about it, it made sense. These apartments were ridiculously expensive, and high-end complexes like this would definitely prioritize privacy and soundproofing.

There was no way it would be as bad as she had imagined—where even the slightest noise from the next room could be heard clearly.

I totally freaked myself out for nothing…

"Speaking of which, Chihiro, I haven’t seen you these past few days. Where have you been?"

"Ah, Rina-chan… I’ve actually been studying with a tutor. I’ve decided to go back to school."

"Really?!"

Hearing this, Nagasaki Rina was genuinely happy. She had always liked Chihiro, but if there was one thing that concerned her, it was the fact that such a wonderful child had been forced to drop out of school due to family circumstances.

Since she didn’t know the full story, she had always felt uneasy about it. But now that Chihiro would be returning as a student, she was truly relieved.

Though… she did notice that her daughter didn’t look as excited as she had expected.

"But I’ll be going to Haneoka. I have my entrance exam there today."

"Oh, I see now. No wonder my little Soyo looks so down~"

Nagasaki Rina found it a bit amusing. Soyo had never been this close to any of her friends before, but now, seeing her act this way, she almost seemed… possessive.

Honestly, if Chihiro were a boy, Rina would have assumed they were dating.

After breakfast, Soyo could only sit there in silence, watching her mother practically forget about her the moment Chihiro showed up—focusing entirely on whether Chihiro was comfortable, whether she needed anything.

Her lips twitched in exasperation.

But once Chihiro got into the passenger seat of Nagasaki Rina’s BMW, Soyo's worries about potential exposures quickly faded.

Instead of chatting about anything embarrassing, the conversation took a surprisingly adult turn.

Not in that way, of course.

It was just that, without realizing it, Rina had started talking to Chihiro about real, grown-up concerns—things she usually wouldn’t discuss with kids.

"Chihiro, do you think this business partner is out of their mind? They came to our company wanting to co-develop a promising girl band, but let’s be real—we don’t even have much influence in that industry."

"Rina-chan, is it possible… that they chose your company because of that?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, wouldn’t it be easier to control a company that doesn’t have much sway in the scene?"

"Besides, your company has tons of advertising and PR resources, right? Maybe that’s what they’re really after."

After a few conversations, Tsuzuki Chihiro had already figured out what kind of work Soyo’s mother did.

Nagasaki Rina was undoubtedly a high-ranking executive in her company—young, ambitious, and one of the brightest rising stars in management.

Her company’s main business was branding, promotions, and event planning. Most of their clients were other companies, and they even had connections with the Tokyo city government.

"Hmm… That does make sense. After all, within our company, including myself, most of the senior management feels like this client is a bit difficult to deal with."

"And what really doesn’t add up is that usually, these kinds of partners expect us, the contractors, to do most of the work. They’d want us to plan everything—marketing, launch strategies, even mapping out the band’s entire career trajectory."

"But they don’t want you involved?"

To be honest, Chihiro wasn’t super interested in business matters, but since this was her future mother-in-law speaking, she made sure to listen and ask a few questions.

"Exactly. And what’s even weirder is that they don’t seem to want to be involved either. According to the person I’ve been in contact with…"

"It sounds like they’re handing over full creative control to some sixteen or seventeen-year-old kid."

"I mean, come on—how does that make any sense?"

Nagasaki Rina was somewhat of a workaholic, but not in the sense that she would neglect her daughter for work. No—her frustration came from seeing bad work, from watching perfectly manageable projects spiral into nonsense.

A girl band, and not just any band, but a commercial, high-investment project.

This wasn’t some amateur school club like what Soyo and Chihiro were playing around with—this was a business venture that could impact financial reports.

No company in their right mind would let an underage girl handle such an important initiative.

And yet… here they were.

Strictly speaking, this setup did make Rina’s job easier as the project’s second-party lead. She had originally been worried that taking on a new project would mean having to apologize to her daughter for being too busy.

But now?

Even though she was technically assigned to this project, it seemed like she wasn’t really needed at all.

Other than assisting that so-called young lady, she had no real responsibilities.

Guess I actually have some free time after all.

"Rina-chan, we’re here."

"Oh…"

Nagasaki Rina nodded, suddenly glad she hadn’t spilled any more details. Otherwise, she might have ended up offending a very well-connected client.

Unlocking the car door for Chihiro, she gave the lovable girl a warm smile and waved.

"Good luck, Chihiro! Rina-nee believes in you—you’ll ace that exam for sure!"

"Mm-hmm, don’t worry! I’ll see you later."

---

Not far away.

At the entrance of a street leading toward the school, Togawa Sakiko happened to witness the entire scene.

She rubbed her eyes, double-checking that she wasn’t seeing things.

That was Tsuzuki Chihiro, stepping out of a sleek, expensive BMW.

The red-haired girl had a bright, cheerful smile—the kind of expression one would wear when saying goodbye to family.

And the woman leaning out from the right-hand driver’s seat, waving at her…

Even just by looking at her face, Sakiko could see a slight resemblance to Chihiro.

Could it be…

That was Chihiro’s mother?!

---

T/N: hehe yep mother-in-law

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!