Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [166]

"Old friend, what do you need me for this time?"

Inside a café near Shibuya, Tsuzuki Shifune sipped her tea, her eyes brimming with amusement.

Seated across from her was none other than Togawa Teiji—the man whose wealth was beyond imagination and the current head of the Togawa Group.

There was no denying it: while Tsuzuki Shifune had achieved astonishing success, rising to the very top of the music industry, she still wasn’t quite on the same level as her old classmate.

"You tell me!"

Togawa Teiji slapped the table, his expression dark with displeasure. He glared at this old friend who had so thoroughly stabbed him in the back and spoke irritably:

"You talked a big game before, but now you’re pulling this on me?!"

"I’m not quite sure what you mean."

Tsuzuki Shifune remained completely unfazed by his "anger." Her ability to maintain a composed expression was impressive—she may not have had any formal acting training, but as the saying goes… age itself turns one into an actor.

"I asked you to put some pressure on my granddaughter, make her give up her fantasies sooner rather than later. But instead—what do you do? You’ve basically sent her off on a honeymoon, haven’t you?!"

"Don’t think I don’t know—I had someone look into it. The salary you’re paying my granddaughter is the absolute highest possible for her position!"

"Oh? I thought you’d be pleased. After all, I’m treating your granddaughter so well."

"Pleased?! Are you kidding me?!"

If not for his public image, Togawa Teiji would’ve slammed the table and stood up to assert his dominance. "Our family’s Sakiko has no financial worries now. Other than dealing with that useless father of hers every day, she’s under no pressure whatsoever."

"Do you have any idea that our company needs a successor in the future? If I can’t count on her, am I supposed to rely on that worthless father of hers instead?!"

"…Why do you have such a strong opinion about her father?"

Tsuzuki Shifune deliberately used opinion rather than prejudice.

Because for there to be a distinction, Togawa Kiyotsugu would have to be competent. If he had both skill and a strong sense of responsibility but was still met with resentment, then it could be called prejudice.

But given the insider information this old man had occasionally shared with her, Tsuzuki Shifune found it difficult to defend the man.

"I’ve always known he wouldn’t amount to anything."

Togawa Teiji shook his head. From the very beginning, he had little regard for his son-in-law.

His daughter loved the man and wanted to marry him. As a father, he wasn’t thrilled about it, but he couldn’t outright stop the younger generation from choosing their own partners.

He originally planned to have Togawa Kiyotsugu join the family and gradually train him. After all, while the guy was far from competent, at least he was sincere toward his father-in-law.

But here’s the thing… sincerity alone isn’t enough in business.

Yes, business relationships required sincerity. If you constantly broke contracts, ignored professional ethics, or resorted to shady tactics, the industry would gradually shut you out.

But sincerity alone, without vigilance, was a disaster.

As long as you stayed within legal and ethical boundaries, you had to be shrewd. You had to do whatever it took to secure your company’s best interests.

You couldn’t just go around with an innocent, harmless face and let yourself be slaughtered.

And Togawa Kiyotsugu? He was exactly that kind of big idiot. His lack of foresight had cost the company enormous losses. If not for Ritsuko and Sakiko’s sake, Togawa Teiji wouldn’t have simply kicked him out—he would’ve done much worse.

He didn’t even make the man shoulder the debt. He didn’t hold him accountable beyond dismissing him. And yet… he still clung to his daughter like dead weight? He still thought he deserved to call himself a father?

At first, Togawa Teiji hadn’t been overly concerned about Sakiko leaving. He assumed things wouldn’t turn out that badly.

But as time went on, the situation only reinforced his conviction: his instincts had been right all along.

There was no way he could let his family’s sole heir waste her life following that useless man’s lead.

"In the past, even though he was incompetent, Ritsuko was still around. She kept an eye on things and would occasionally try to vouch for him in front of me."

"But now that Ritsuko’s gone, that guy doesn’t have a single redeeming quality left."

"I’m doing this for Sakiko’s own good. A person’s environment shapes their character. If she stays with her father, she won’t learn anything useful."

"What, is she supposed to build character by working part-time and being a student worker? Don’t make me laugh."

"If a major corporation’s heir could be properly trained through part-time jobs, then every single one of them would be utterly useless."

"You’re not exactly wrong…"

Tsuzuki Shifune sighed. She actually sympathized with her old classmate quite a bit.

After all, she had also lost a son and daughter-in-law. But compared to her, Togawa Teiji was under far greater pressure.

"By the way, has your granddaughter been in contact with Sakiko lately?"

"Ah… well…"

"Don’t bother lying. I’ve already heard—your precious granddaughter ran away from home again, didn’t she?"

Togawa Teiji, ever the master of information, smirked as he watched Shifune’s expression grow colder. He was clearly enjoying himself.

"Seems like neither of us can keep up with the younger generation anymore."

"I’m not like you. I just want my granddaughter to live happily. Whatever she wants to do, she can do."

"…"

"But I do understand your perspective. That’s why I haven’t turned down your new proposal."

"You really don’t care that your granddaughter isn’t attending school?"

"Alright, fine. I admit it does bother me a little. But what can I do? I have no choice but to accept it, don’t I? She has too many thoughts of her own now—I can’t control her anymore."

"I have a solution."

"What solution?"

Togawa Teiji chuckled. "There is a way, but we’ll have to play the villains this time.

"Then again… you never should’ve given my granddaughter such cushy treatment in the first place."

"I’m just making sure she understands: nothing in this world is given freely. Every so-called ‘gift’ comes with a price."

With that, Togawa Teiji stood up, preparing to leave.

"You’re going?"

"Yeah. Time to have a chat with my rebellious granddaughter."

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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!