Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [164]

"What’s in all these boxes?"

As soon as Soyo walked into Chihiro’s house, she was met with a pile of unopened delivery boxes of various sizes stacked near the entrance. It was almost as if they were deliberately left untouched, just waiting for her to come over and ask about them.

"Some recording equipment. Since we’ll be recording songs at home from now on, it wouldn’t make sense not to get some professional gear."

"Ah..."

The corner of Soyo’s mouth twitched slightly. That was when she remembered—she had indeed promised Chihiro that she’d sing.

But with that girl duo, plus a lyricist whose identity she didn’t even know… Could this five-person group really make it big?

Soyo had her doubts. The internet was flooded with influencers nowadays, but how many of them actually broke through?

"Help me move these."

"...Fine, I’ll help."

Soyo knew Chihiro would definitely make her do the heavy lifting, but she didn’t really mind. After all, she’d be using this equipment too. And besides, it wasn’t her money being spent.

Not to mention, with Chihiro’s family being in the business, whether she actually paid for this or just made a phone call and had it delivered… that was anyone’s guess.

Chihiro’s selection of equipment was nothing short of comprehensive. The most important piece, of course, was the microphone for recording.

Since capturing vocals with precision was crucial, investing in a high-quality condenser microphone was a must. Seeing the "Neumann" logo on the packaging and looking up its hefty price tag on her phone, Soyo couldn’t help but feel the urge to call out a certain someone for always crying about being broke while shamelessly milking her family’s resources.

Aside from the microphone, there were pop filters, an audio interface, several over-ear headphones, monitoring speakers, an amplifier, and even mic stands and acoustic panels to reduce room reverb—all neatly arranged on the studio floor.

Nagasaki Soyo wiped the sweat off her forehead. Meanwhile, Chihiro, having already taken a shower and changed into fresh clothes, was lounging in a chair with her long, black-stockinged legs crossed, sipping on a drink and smiling at her.

Soyo couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Tsuzuki Chihiro! Do you not have hands?!"

"What kind of attitude is that? I’m your mom’s good friend now. Is this how you talk to your elders?"

"...Just because you’ve won my mom over doesn’t mean I’m afraid of you."

"Then aren’t you curious about what I talked to Taki about this afternoon?" Chihiro grinned, her smile devilish as she toyed with Soyo’s nerves.

She knew this little widow too well. Soyo had two sides—one was her gentle, “clampy” mode, and the other was her bitter, widow-like resentment mode. But if played right, Chihiro could always draw out the perfect in-between version of Soyo.

That was—frustrated yet eager-to-please, flustered Soyo.

"...What else do you want me to do?"

"Just wait a sec."

Chihiro got up, carried the chair back to the living room, then walked to her bedroom closet. She rummaged through it and pulled out the maid outfit she had worn once before tossing it aside. She threw it in front of Soyo.

"Put it on. Serve me well tonight, and if I’m in a good mood, I might just tell you everything."

"...Fine!"

Nagasaki Soyo gritted her teeth. But just as she was about to change, something suddenly occurred to her. "Wait, isn’t my mom coming over later?"

"Ugh, she was just saying that. We’re two girls having fun together—why would an adult come over and interrupt us?"

Who’s having fun?! You’re the only one enjoying this!

Soyo wanted to say it out loud, but she didn’t dare.

"And how can you be so sure?" She folded her arms, skeptical. "If my mom sees me like this, I’ll be the one dying of embarrassment, not you."

"Who knows her better, you or me?"

"???" Soyo’s eyes widened. "Excuse me?! She’s my mom! Not yours!"

"Really? I wouldn’t mind if she became my mom too..." Chihiro’s eyes flickered with sadness for a split second, though Soyo didn’t notice. "But don’t worry. Even if she wanted to come in, she couldn’t."

"...That’s true."

Soyo hesitated for a long while. By the time she finally gave in, Chihiro was starting to get impatient, nearly ready to just strip her by force.

And somehow, Soyo herself had forgotten that she used to insist on changing in private. Maybe the incident in the bathroom had mentally prepared her, because now, even changing in front of Chihiro didn’t feel like a big deal.

Of course, this was just her putting up a front—pretending that none of this embarrassed or flustered her.

Once she was dressed in the maid outfit again, her face involuntarily reddened. It wasn’t just because of the outfit itself, but because a certain pervy girl was openly scanning her from head to toe with a teasing gaze, making her feel completely exposed.

"Come here."

Tsuzuki Chihiro patted the bed in her room. She leaned back on it, and after some hesitation, Soyo reluctantly climbed on as well.

"Now..."

"Massage my legs. I got caught in the rain earlier, and my old cold legs are aching."

"You? Old cold legs?"

"Stop dawdling." Chihiro kicked out lightly, her foot brushing against Soyo’s dangling hair.

An inexplicable tension hung between them.

Instinctively, Soyo tried to block Chihiro’s “attack,” but she ended up catching hold of her foot instead.

The delicate, chocolate-colored foot felt like a divine masterpiece, with a perfect arch so mesmerizing that Soyo found herself momentarily dazed.

The moment she realized how wrong her thoughts were, she panicked internally.

No way… am I becoming more and more of a pervert? Why the hell am I staring at this scammer’s foot?

But what surprised Soyo even more was that instead of pulling away, Chihiro just relaxed, closed her eyes, and stretched out lazily.

Damn it… When Chihiro played the maid, I didn’t get this kind of treatment!

"Don’t tickle my soles. I’m sensitive."

"...I’m not that childish."

"Then get started."

"..."

The two continued their bizarre interaction in silence.

Until—

"Chihiro~ Soyo~"

"???"

"Rina’s here! Let me hear what your song sounds like~"

"Hey?! Chihiro, didn’t you say she couldn’t get in?!"

"Uh… I forgot to tell you. I gave her the door code in advance."

"You… did this on purpose?!"

"Mhm~"

Nagasaki Soyo was on the verge of tears. "What now?! I swear, Chihiro, if you let me socially die in front of my mom, I’ll end you!"

"Relax."

As Nagasaki Rina’s footsteps drew closer, Tsuzuki Chihiro suddenly pressed Soyo’s head down onto her lap and pulled the blanket over her.

"Ah, Chihiro, you’re here~" Nagasaki Rina pushed open the door, spotting the girl sprawled out on the bed, knees slightly bent. She looked around curiously.

"Hm? Where’s Soyo?"

"Hmm... yeah, where did she go?"

---

T/N: OOOOOOOMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG its over this translaiton is the dath of me

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!