Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [169]

"Soyo, I’m going outside to make a call."

"Mm."

Nagasaki Soyo nodded without asking who Chihiro was calling.

She knew that if Chihiro wanted to tell her, she wouldn’t hide it. But if she didn’t mention it, then she clearly didn’t want her to know.

She had learned that lesson from Sakiko.

Back then, she had desperately wanted to understand what was going on with her, but the result had been… well, exactly what she should’ve expected.

Though Chihiro wasn’t the same as Sakiko—their personalities were completely different—Soyo still chose to stay silent.

After stepping onto her balcony, Tsuzuki Chihiro leaned against the railing.

Her apartment’s balcony layout was almost identical to Soyo’s. In fact, if it weren’t for those annoying potted plants in the way, she could probably climb straight into Soyo’s place.

There was no wind tonight, so even in her thin clothes, she wouldn’t catch a chill.

She sat down, stretched her legs across the bench, and waited for Sakiko to explain herself.

But that explanation… never came.

Chihiro frowned.

Was this really the same soft, sweet little Sakiko she knew?

Leaving the group chat without a word—clearly, something had happened.

The first thing that came to mind was that Sakiko must’ve found out about her deal with Soyo.

But that made no sense.

No one else knew about that agreement. Not even Taki—she only knew about the fake version of it.

So… did Taki tell Sakiko?

That didn’t seem right either.

By now, Chihiro had a solid grasp of Taki’s personality. She was a stubborn person—driven, proud, and completely unwilling to let things go.

Taki still saw Sakiko as the source of all her problems. There was no way she would suddenly have a change of heart overnight and start sharing information with her.

So that meant…

Soyo told her?

That was even less likely.

Chihiro ran a hand through her hair, letting out a self-deprecating chuckle.

She could suspect anyone, but not Soyo.

Out of everyone, Soyo was the least suspicious and the last person she should be doubting.

"Ugh… What am I even doing? I could just call her and ask."

Shaking her head at her own stupidity, Chihiro scrolled through her contacts and dialed Sakiko’s number.

But something felt… off.

The phone rang for a long time.

No answer.

Chihiro was about to give up when, after several attempts, the call finally connected.

Except—when Sakiko spoke, her voice sounded… different.

"Hello? What do you want?"

"Sakiko, why did you leave the group chat? And why weren’t you answering my calls?"

"…"

There was a brief silence on the other end.

It seemed like Sakiko was debating something.

Then, she let out a soft sigh.

"Sorry. It’s a personal issue. I can’t make music with you anymore."

"It’s been less than two days since we started."

"It’s not about time. I just don’t have the energy for this. I’m sorry."

Sakiko’s tone was distant, formal—like she was handling a work obligation rather than talking to a friend.

Well, technically speaking, Red Ginger was a job. Unlike CRYCHIC, it was a commercial project.

Togawa Sakiko had genuinely wanted to try her best. Even if she wasn’t close with the others, at least she could trust that Chihiro wouldn’t lie to her.

But now?

Now, it felt like everything had been pre-planned for her.

"Chihiro… do you know my grandfather?"

"Your grandfather?"

"Togawa Teiji. Have you met him before?"

Sakiko was expecting a yes.

But she didn’t get it.

On the other end of the call, Chihiro was silent for a moment before replying, "I have no idea who that is. Never met him."

Sakiko’s fingers tightened around her phone.

Her already dim eyes lost their last trace of light.

"I see… In that case, forget I asked."

"Sakiko, you at least owe me an explanation."

Chihiro wasn’t angry, but she was definitely annoyed.

She liked Sakiko—really, she did.

But what was this sudden tantrum supposed to be?

Thinking back to what Soyo had told her about that rainy night, and recalling Taki’s lingering resentment toward Sakiko… Chihiro had a creeping suspicion that some things were always bound to fall apart, no matter what.

"Then you give me an explanation first!"

Sakiko’s voice was sharp.

"Can you honestly tell me that you approached me purely by chance? That there wasn’t some agreement behind it? That nobody told you to get close to me?!"

"…Sakiko, did you misunderstand something?"

"Still lying to me."

"I—"

"I knew it."

Sakiko let out a bitter laugh.

"From the very beginning, you had an agenda."

And with that, she hung up.

Chihiro stared at her phone screen, now back on the home screen, completely dumbfounded.

What the hell just happened?

But judging from how things ended…

It seemed like Sakiko had figured everything out.

"Chihiro…"

"Hm?"

Hearing Soyo’s voice, Chihiro looked up.

The person Sakiko was referring to in their conversation—the one who had made an agreement behind her back—was standing right in front of her.

"When did you get here?"

"Just now."

Normally, Soyo wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to kick Chihiro while she was down.

But for some reason, standing here now, she didn’t feel like doing that at all.

"You were on the phone with your friend, weren’t you? Did you two fight?"

"Yeah. She suddenly decided to quit Red Ginger and just said it was a ‘personal issue.’ I asked her about it, and she flipped on me. Can you believe that?"

"…Huh?"

Soyo’s first instinct was to tell Chihiro to call back so she could cuss Sakiko out herself.

But instead… she found herself more worried about Chihiro’s mood.

"Don’t worry, I’m not upset or anything. Just annoyed."

Because, in the end…

This was her own fault.

If she told Soyo the truth—that Sakiko had already figured everything out—this little widow would probably lose her mind.

It wasn’t about hiding anything.

It was just that… Chihiro knew how Soyo was.

Whenever she panicked, she would always do something stupid—something that usually ended up making everything worse.

So instead of letting Soyo handle it…

Chihiro figured it was better if she was the one to "teach" that little brat a lesson.

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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!