Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [181]

Raana’s house was in Ikebukuro—not too far, but not exactly close to Chihiro’s grandmother’s place either. Still, since she hadn’t been back in a long time, Tsuzuki Chihiro couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu.

The last time she came here… must have been three years ago, right?

The house itself hadn’t changed much, but the nearby shops looked different from what she remembered. Some of the so-called “long-established” stores had vanished, replaced by others bearing the same title.

It was hard to tell whether these “long-established” places had simply run their course, or if people were just slapping prestigious labels onto new businesses—like a kid trying to act like an adult by dressing the part.

Kind of like how the pink-haired girl walking beside her, Chihaya Anon, still looked like an overgrown child.

"Chihiro, is Soyo coming back next week? Ah… I’m so nervous. What kind of person is she?"

"Wait, wasn’t the real Soyo already in the band before? Oh no, now I can’t tell who’s who anymore~"

"Oh, right! Chihiro, Tomori and I already came up with a name for our band! Wanna guess what it is?"

"…"

Tsuzuki Chihiro smiled like an adult humoring a child, casually brushing off Anon’s excited chatter. She hadn’t expected the pink-haired girl to be this enthusiastic today.

Wouldn’t a normal person feel at least a little nervous about having dinner with a bunch of strangers?

But to explain why Anon was even here, they had to go back a few days.

After Chihiro “ran away from home,” the messages she received from her family were mostly basic concerns. But among them was an invitation from Raana’s parents.

Raana’s father, Kaname Takeshi, and her mother, Kaname Uta, were a bit of an unusual pair. Uta was actually Tsuzuki Shifune’s biological daughter—meaning that even if Takeshi and Chihiro’s father had only been acquaintances at best, Uta had always been warm and kind to her niece.

Takeshi wasn’t bad to her either. After all, whatever issues the adults had among themselves, they didn’t project them onto the younger generation.

The problem was… Chihiro didn’t see it that way.

Right now, she was the ultimate problem child—a high school dropout who ran off overseas to play in a band, disappeared for years, and even faked her own death.

And now that she was back, she was still as rebellious as ever. Not only that, but she had a girlfriend now.

Any one of those things would be an earth-shattering revelation. So, when she finally decided to accept the invitation, Chihiro figured… she might as well bring Anon along.

Thus, the brilliant Chihiro devised a perfect strategy.

A family dinner? Fine. But what if the unruly niece decided to bring a friend? Suddenly, it wouldn’t feel so much like a family meeting anymore. If her aunt and uncle wanted to lecture her, they’d have to think twice in front of a guest, right?

Of course… if she were bringing someone, the obvious choice should have been Soyo.

But their relationship had changed now. Chihiro wasn’t about to take that risk and introduce her to her aunt just yet.

"Chihiro… Are you sure it’s okay for me to come? I don’t really know Raana-chan’s parents."

"It’s fine." Tsuzuki Chihiro grinned at her perfect tool, the pink-haired girl beside her. "I already told them about you. I said you were my closest friend in England, that you helped me so much over there, and that I’d be dead without you."

"Wait, isn’t ‘dead’ a little too dramatic…?"

"Oh? So you weren’t my best friend in England?"

"Of course I was!"

"Then that settles it." Chihiro chuckled at how much easier it was to manipulate Anon compared to Soyo. "Relax. My aunt and uncle will love you. And besides, didn’t I even prepare a gift for you to bring?"

"Don’t worry—you being here actually makes me feel more at ease."

"But, Chihiro…" Anon was happy about the praise, but she was curious about something else. "You’ve been on your phone this whole time. Who are you talking to? They’re really chatty."

"Uh."

Who else could it be? Obviously, her tsundere little widow.

Ever since Soyo and Chihiro had confirmed their relationship, Soyo had been constantly checking in on her, sending messages to confirm her whereabouts. And sometimes, she’d send random gossip—trivial stuff that only girls shared with each other—almost as if she wanted to pique Chihiro’s curiosity.

But what Soyo didn’t realize was that Chihiro didn’t care about gossip that had nothing to do with her.

What did interest her, though, were all the embarrassing childhood stories she had almost heard from Soyo’s mom the other day—before Soyo interrupted.

But if she asked about it directly, Soyo would probably retaliate by acting all smug, or worse, she might start swiping at her like Wagahai.

"It’s nothing. It’s just Soyo, asking about the band… Yep, that’s all."

"Soyo again…"

Chihaya Anon muttered under her breath. There was an unmistakable sourness in her tone.

And for some reason, she had a bad feeling.

Almost like… she wasn’t the most important person in Chihiro’s life anymore.

"Alright, stop thinking about it. Just come inside with me."

They had gone from a distance where they could see Raana’s house to now standing right in front of the gate, just one step away from ringing the doorbell.

And as soon as Chihiro pressed it, it didn’t even take ten seconds before her aunt’s excited voice came through the intercom.

"Is that little Chihiro? And your friend, little Anon? Come in, come in! I’ll open the door for you."

With a click, the outer gate unlocked, and the intercom fell silent.

However, the first person to greet them wasn’t Chihiro’s aunt—it was the little white-haired whirlwind herself, Kaname Raana.

The very moment the gate opened, Raana rushed straight at Chihiro, throwing herself into her arms.

And standing right there beside them, the very large pink-haired girl was completely ignored—like a ghost.

Anon could only watch in jealousy as Raana rubbed her face against Chihiro’s chest.

"Raana, don’t be rude. Greet your Anon-nee properly."

"Eh?"

She was being called "nee-san"?!

Raana had never addressed her that way before!

"Anon-nee."

"Hehehe~"

"Stop grinning like an idiot," Chihiro smacked Anon lightly on the head. "I’m counting on you. My future happiness depends on you now."

Future happiness?

Chihaya Anon was confused.

But she soon found out exactly what Chihiro meant.

"Now that we know Chihiro is safe, your uncle and I feel much more at ease.

But there’s one thing we discussed with your grandmother, and we’ve come to a decision… Chihiro, at your age, you really should go back to school."

"…"

Chihiro’s head started to hurt.

She knew it. Her aunt, who had always been concerned about her, wouldn’t just sit back and let her not return to school.

But it was fine—because Anon would back her up.

"Anon-chan, what do you think? As Chihiro’s best friend, you understand her feelings better than anyone, don’t you?"

"Ah… I…"

Anon turned to Chihiro, saw the encouragement in her eyes, and suddenly understood.

As her best friend, Chihiro must want to go back to school with her.

She just couldn’t ask, since these people weren’t her real parents—she probably felt bad about making her aunt and uncle pay for her education.

So Anon had to step in and help!

"Auntie, you’re absolutely right! Chihiro, why don’t you just say yes? I want to go to school with you too!"

"…Eh?"

T-R-A-I-T-O-R!

You pink-haired traitor!

I told you to help me drop out, not push me into the fire!

"Chihiro, even Anon agrees. Don’t you feel embarrassed staying home all day like a shut-in?"

"I… I…"

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T/N: im still reeling from the previous chapter

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!