Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [185]

A girl in love really does lose IQ points.

Tsuzuki Chihiro never used to believe that, but now—seeing Soyo clinging to her arm, endlessly apologizing with a guilty look just because of a few words she had casually thrown out—she was starting to.

"Soyo… I’m sorry. It was my fault."

"It’s okay, I don’t blame you. I really have been busy these past few days."

Honestly, now that she thought about it, seeing Soyo actually buy into her words made Chihiro feel a little guilty.

In the past, she probably would have laughed at a certain little widow for being so slow on the uptake. But now, all she felt was that she was a terrible girlfriend.

Oh, wait—she couldn’t use that nickname anymore. That would be like cursing herself.

"So what are we doing for your birthday tomorrow?"

"My birthday?" Tsuzuki Chihiro suddenly realized her birthday was coming up. "Uh, I don’t usually celebrate it."

"That won’t do!"

Nagasaki Soyo didn’t care how Chihiro used to spend this day—there was no way she was going to let it go uncelebrated.

"But I really will be busy tomorrow. I have to take the entrance exam at Haneoka, and by the time it’s over, I’ll probably just want to collapse in bed and sleep."

Seeing Soyo’s unhappy expression—like she was the one whose birthday was being ignored—Chihiro chuckled and added, "How about this?

"Soyo, your birthday is on May 27th, right? Our birthdays are only a few days apart, so why don’t we pick a middle date—Sunday the 24th—and celebrate together?

"Otherwise, with how many friends you have at school, by the time the 27th rolls around, I’d just end up standing on the sidelines, wouldn’t I?"

"…"

Nagasaki Soyo froze slightly, then let out a small, bitter smile.

She did have a lot of friends at school, but none of them were close. The only person she really shared her thoughts and worries with was the girl in front of her.

Every year, she had spent her birthday with her mom. There were times when her mother came home very late, but she never missed that day.

But this year, there would be three of them. Maybe even the whole band.

"What's wrong? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?"

"N-No, it’s nothing." Soyo shook her head, but the small smile never left her lips. "By the way, Chihiro… are you really planning to ask Sakiko about those things?"

"Yeah."

Tsuzuki Chihiro nodded seriously.

At first, she had just said it offhandedly, never expecting that her sudden decision to go to Haneoka would end up tied to Sakiko. But since she had already told Soyo, she couldn’t back out now—otherwise, she’d only hurt her.

Besides, she really was confused. She had no idea what she had done to make that blue-haired hedgehog suddenly turn on her.

But considering how Sakiko had left the family business, Chihiro had already pieced together part of the truth.

It probably had to do with that damn pride of hers.

Of course… Chihiro had her own pride, too. But after coming out of her own phase of stubbornness, she could now look back and see how irresponsible it was to let pride come before the people around her.

"Chihiro, I’m sorry."

"Why are you apologizing again?"

"Because you still haven’t given up on the promise you made me. Is it because you know I can’t just forget the past so easily?"

"More or less." Tsuzuki Chihiro ran her fingers through the little maid’s long hair, her free hand sliding from the top of Soyo’s head down her back before finally resting around her waist. "A girlfriend still tangled up with her ex… how could I possibly let that happen?"

"…What?"

Nagasaki Soyo blinked, then rolled her eyes and smacked away Chihiro’s wandering hand. "Don’t make girl bands sound so scandalous."

"Just because we’re in a band doesn’t mean we’re all that wild."

"You’d better be telling the truth."

"Of course! What do you take me for? And you—you’re the one who randomly decided I have split personalities! I still can’t believe it… Playing in a band and ending up with dissociative identity disorder—and Taki actually believed you?!"

"But I still think it’s a shame… That was such a great setup! You have no idea how excited I was when I realized Taki genuinely thought we were two different people.

"Too bad we ended up telling her the truth…"

"Heh. If you had the chance, would you do it all over again?"

"Who knows?"

"…"

Nagasaki Soyo was truly speechless at her utterly shameless girlfriend. If she hadn’t already learned how to tell when Chihiro was serious and when she was just messing around, she might have actually been driven mad by her antics.

But at the same time, she couldn’t help thinking about what Chihiro had said earlier—the two unresolved issues surrounding CRYCHIC.

Sakiko was one thing, but Mutsumi… Soyo still had complicated feelings about her.

She realized that she had never truly understood the girl. She had only ever seen her through a set of fixed labels. But what if one day… those labels no longer applied?

And besides, how could a person be reduced to just a label?

"Chihiro."

"Hm?"

"Did Mutsumi ever tell you?" Soyo’s voice suddenly became urgent. "I mean… why she said what she did in front of everyone?

"Did she really… never feel happy in CRYCHIC?"

"Why don’t you ask her yourself?"

"I…"

"Come to think of it, didn’t Mutsumi agree to be in a band with you?" Tsuzuki Chihiro suddenly remembered.

"Ah… that’s right."

Nagasaki Soyo sighed. She really hadn’t expected Mutsumi to agree so easily this time around. Now, she felt like she was stuck in an awkward position.

And these past few days, Mutsumi had been unusually attentive, sticking by her whenever she wasn’t in class, silently doing whatever Soyo was doing.

"Tomorrow at school, why don’t you talk to her properly? I know you can work things out."

"As for Sakiko… leave her to me."

"…Alright."

"Good. Now that the serious talk is over, let’s move on to something less serious."

"Eh?"

Seeing Soyo’s cheeks suddenly turn red, Tsuzuki Chihiro chuckled. Then, under the little maid’s startled gaze, she gently pushed her down.

Her long, wine-red hair slipped down with gravity, brushing against Soyo’s flushed cheeks—warm and ticklish.

"Soyo, remember this…"

Hearing Chihiro’s suddenly serious tone, Soyo’s heart leapt into her throat.

"Remember, if your mom just finished washing up, she’s probably lying down next door right now…"

"And the only thing separating us, two bad kids, is a single wall~"

"Wait, you—"

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T/N: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

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!