Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [151]

Ignoring the strange looks from Nina and Momoka, Chihiro all but forced her payment out of a highly reluctant Subaru.

After counting the cash and confirming that it was enough to cover both her and Soyu’s food expenses for the week, she finally nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, job’s done. If there’s nothing else, I’ll just—"

"You’re leaving? You think you can get away?"

"Eh?"

"Nina, close the door."

"Got it!"

At Kawaragi Momoka’s mischievous command, Iseri Nina sprinted to the entrance of the recording studio, slammed the door shut, and pressed her small frame against it.

"You haven’t shown up to practice these past few days. Are you sure you’re taking your role as bassist seriously?"

"…Did I not say I was quitting the band?"

"Oh? Did you?"

"Well, I’m saying it now. So can I go?" Chihiro sighed, exasperated. She had no idea why they took her temporary stint as their bassist so seriously.

Like hell she was going to keep hanging around with these high school dropouts!

…Wait.

She had dropped out, too.

Still, her priority right now was dealing with Soyu and the rest of the JK girls.

If nothing else, being around them at least let her bask in their glow, letting her pretend she was also a brilliant, high-achieving student.

"Then go ahead and leave."

"Eh? Wait—Momoka, why?!" Nina’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected Momoka to say that after a brief pause.

"Chihiro, you just said it yourself, right? You’re a guitarist."

"…Yeah."

"I don’t know why you’re playing bass, but now I finally get why your bass skills are just okay."

Momoka had already heard from Nina that Chihiro used to play guitar.

But just as the three of them each had things they didn’t want others to ask about, she figured guitar must have been a sore spot for Chihiro as well.

Still, from what Chihiro had just said, it seemed like she had already moved past her uncertainties.

She even managed to help Subaru work through her issues—something that, as an adult, Momoka couldn’t have done nearly as well.

If possible, Momoka wanted Chihiro to stay.

But she also knew that Chihiro’s heart wasn’t with them, and forcing her wouldn’t change that.

"How about this… I’ll treat you to dinner tonight. Stay and eat with us before you go."

"Uh…"

"What, you can’t even agree to that?"

"No, I just… need to check in with my family first."

"Family?" Momoka blinked, then asked instinctively, "You mean your grandma?"

"…No. Anyway, it’s none of your business!"

"Why are you getting all flustered?" Subaru, though still unsure how she would handle her grandmother later, was clearly making an effort not to dampen the mood.

"Also, I just realized—Momoka’s the only one here who’s legally an adult, right? At least this time, even if she gets drunk, it won’t be our problem."

The memory of Momoka’s last drunken disaster flashed through Subaru’s mind—her and Nina, one carrying her by the shoulders, the other by the legs, hauling her home like a sack of potatoes.

Even getting multiple takes rejected on set had never been as humiliating as that.

But once dinner was over and they’d gotten Momoka home safely, Subaru knew she had to finally sit down with her grandmother and have that conversation.

Still…

After Nina’s interruption earlier, she was hesitating again.

"If you really can’t say it out loud, why not invite Awa-san to your next live performance instead?"

"Huh?"

Subaru turned, startled, only to find Chihiro—who had miraculously finished "checking in" already—standing right in front of her, as if reading her mind.

"Wait—you already made your call? How come I didn’t hear you say anything?"

"She… didn’t pick up."

Chihiro frowned. It was strange—normally, whenever she contacted the little widow, she would answer almost immediately.

Why wasn’t she picking up this time?

And not just ignoring the call—she had deliberately hung up after only two rings.

Did something happen with Soyu?

If she was in a situation where she couldn’t answer, that was one thing.

But if she had purposely ignored Chihiro just to make her life difficult—

Chihiro swore, the moment she got home, she’d make sure Soyu couldn’t sleep on her back tonight.

—Because that little widow was going to get her ass beaten so bad, she wouldn’t be able to lie down without wincing.

"Whatever. I’ll deal with her later."

"…Mm."

Subaru wasn’t sure if she was responding to Chihiro’s previous statement or agreeing to her proposal, but either way, she had no objections.

It was only around 4 PM—definitely too early for dinner.

But with this group, especially with Nina and Subaru constantly chattering away, getting together wasn’t just about eating.

They found a nearby restaurant and ordered five dishes plus a soup.

But before the food arrived, the first things to hit the table were drinks and beer.

Chihiro, however, was slightly out of place among them.

Not because she was bad at socializing—her social skills weren’t that terrible.

She was just glued to her phone, staring at her LINE chat window, where there was still no reply.

---

"Wasn’t that your friend calling just now? Why didn’t you pick up?"

Nagasaki Rina glanced at her daughter in the passenger seat, casually asking the question.

"It was… nothing important."

"Really?" Rina chuckled. She was used to Soyu’s awkward evasions by now.

Most of the time, she found it cute.

But as a mother, she couldn’t help but wonder if that kind of personality might cause problems down the line.

Tsuzuki Chihiro…

The name wasn’t familiar.

But the surname? That, she had heard before.

"So, Soyu… when you mistook me for this ‘Tsuzuki Chihiro’ earlier, was that because—"

"I…"

"Mom’s really curious, you know. Why do you get so nervous when I bring up that name? If it’s just a friend, I wouldn’t mind. It’s a good thing to have close friends."

"Um, Mom."

"Hm?"

Rina glanced at her daughter, puzzled.

But the words that came next were not what she expected.

"Are you really planning to stay home long-term? What about work…? Won’t that be a problem?"

…She must have misheard.

The same daughter who had always wanted her to come home—

Was now acting like she didn’t want her around?!

And all because of this Tsuzuki Chihiro—whoever they were, how old they were, whatever they looked like?

"Soyu… you wouldn’t happen to be hiding someone in a golden house, would you?"

Rina was only joking.

But Soyu’s reaction was… interesting.

And when Rina leaned in, switching to a more motherly tone—

Soyu panicked.

And in her flustered state, she blurted out something far more shocking:

"Actually… I’m the one being hidden!"

"???"

"Ah—no, no, that’s not what I meant!"

---

T/N: WAHIAFIAHFPASHIOFTHAIOFH

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!