Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [153]

Togawa Sakiko never expected that every time her life showed even the slightest improvement, every time she started to feel a glimmer of hope, reality would douse her in cold water—reminding her that, away from the Togawa family, she kept running into problems she would have never encountered as a rich young lady.

This time was no different.

It was as if fate itself wanted her to give up on these unrealistic fantasies, to abandon not just her dreams but even her family, and return to her grandfather’s house to resume her role as a proper lady of high society.

She had received the call while working at Sunkei.

One glance at the caller ID was all it took for her to know—it was her father, causing trouble again.

It wasn’t the first time.

And it probably wouldn’t be the last.

She had once promised Soyu that she would return to CRYCHIC and start practicing with them again.

But because of a phone call just like this one, she had been yanked out of her fragile daydreams and thrown back into the harsh reality of her life.

She still remembered how, on the verge of emotional collapse, she had said things she deeply regretted.

How, in the end, the band she had placed so much hope in… disbanded.

And ever since then, the shadow of that breakup had never truly lifted.

Just yesterday, she had been struggling with whether she could really help Soyu—or if it was even something within her power to fix.

And today, fate had thrown her back into the same dilemma.

Which path should she choose…

Or was it possible that neither of them were hers to walk?

"Sakiko, what’s wrong?"

As Sakiko took the call, her small face set with worry, Kujo Azuki, the store manager, walked over with concern.

If it had been anyone else—someone constantly having issues, barely making it through their first week on the job—Azuki would have already started hinting that they weren’t cut out for this work.

But Sakiko was different.

It might sound a little materialistic, but reality was reality.

Of course, setting aside her professional mindset, Azuki genuinely liked this girl—there was something about her that made her easy to care for.

"Azuki-san… It’s my family. There’s been an incident, I—"

"…I understand."

Azuki knew Sakiko wasn’t lying.

And even if she was, she had no reason to.

"I can’t give special treatment to just one person," Azuki continued, her voice firm but not unkind. "You’ve already had some issues at work these past few days, so I’ll have to deduct today’s wages."

"But we’ll deal with that later. Right now, go handle your family situation."

"If it’s urgent, just take a taxi."

"…Mm. Thank you, Azuki-san."

Not getting fired was already a relief.

At least, that’s what Sakiko told herself.

After leaving Sunkei, she did end up taking a taxi—

And immediately regretted it.

Having barely taken cabs before, she nearly punched the scammy driver in the face when she saw the fare.

But there was no time for that.

Because this time, her father hadn’t just passed out drunk in the streets.

Apparently, he had gotten into an altercation with a woman.

In Japan, a drunk man harassing a woman was no small matter.

If the victim pressed charges, the compensation fees would be steep.

And considering her father was still unemployed, it was impossible to make a good impression in a case like this.

Sakiko rushed into the police station, about to ask for details—

When her footsteps froze.

Her eyes widened.

…Why?

Why was Chi-chan here?

Was this just a coincidence?

Not far away, Tsuzuki Chihiro stood with her phone, seemingly in the middle of a call.

She was just as surprised to see Sakiko, but before she could say anything, Sakiko instinctively wanted to run.

Yet even as she imagined herself fleeing, her body remained rooted in place—

Even shaking slightly, as if trying to shake her soul free from her body.

"...Sakiko?"

"……"

Why?

"Chihiro, is she your friend?"

"Yeah. That man over there is probably Sakiko’s father."

"Then this was all just a misunderstanding, wasn’t it? Might as well drop it—Momoka will say the same thing once she sobers up, anyway."

"……"

Why…

Why did it have to be her father… and Chihiro’s friends…

Sakiko lowered her head, desperately trying to shrink into the background of the police station.

But suddenly, she felt warmth.

Someone had pulled her into an embrace.

"Sakiko, it’s okay," Chihiro murmured gently. "Trust me."

"……"

Sakiko wanted to pull away.

But no matter how she struggled, she couldn’t break free.

Or rather—she didn’t actually want to.

Tsuzuki Chihiro was… special to her.

They hadn’t spoken that often.

But Sakiko could always sense something familiar in Chihiro.

And the strange part was—

Sakiko had always thought Chihiro was the one who needed looking after.

She had always believed that by taking care of Chihiro, she could find her own strength.

But at the same time, what she feared most was showing weakness in front of her.

And yet—

Now that the moment had come, she realized…

She didn’t hate it.

It wasn’t as unbearable as she thought.

And somehow—before she could even explain herself—Chihiro already seemed to understand.

"Nina, Subaru, take Momoka home first."

"Ah… got it!"

Nina and Subaru, who had originally been enjoying the drama, immediately understood the situation.

Though Subaru, for her part, still felt like this was just another instance of that scam artist Chihiro using her so-called "charm" to cozy up to another cute girl.

But still…

She trusted Chihiro.

Just like earlier that afternoon, when she had instinctively called Chihiro for help after her argument with Nina.

For some reason, this soft-looking girl had an inexplicable ability—

One that made people forget how long they had known her and simply believe…

That she would be able to help them.

Once the dropout trio had left, Chihiro finally led Sakiko to the officers.

Even though Momoka wasn’t pressing charges, Togawa Kiyotsugu had still been drunk and causing a disturbance, which violated public order laws.

A fine still had to be paid.

In the end, Chihiro ended up covering the cost.

"Sakiko, I…"

"Take me home."

"…Huh?"

"Ah—wait, no, I mean…"

Chihiro scratched her cheek, quickly correcting herself.

"I meant—someone still has to help your dad get back, right?"

Of course…

A certain someone who really enjoyed crashing at cute girls’ houses…

Was already making plans to cuddle up with Sakiko tonight.

---

T/N: OOOOOHHHHH SHE'S TRYING TO WIFE UP SAKIKO TOO?

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!