Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [144]

"I-I’m going back to my room…"

Not wanting Tsuzuki Chihiro to notice anything off about her, Nagasaki Soyo turned and bolted. She rushed into the bedroom Chihiro had assigned her, locking the door behind her without a second thought.

What she hadn’t expected, though, was to find Chihiro’s cat, the one Raana had given her—Wagahai—lounging in the corner of the room.

The cat didn’t seem startled by her sudden entrance. Instead, it narrowed its eyes in contentment as Soyo absentmindedly stroked its head, her mind weighed down with thoughts.

"How could Taki dream about that…? Does she already know everything?"

Just considering the possibility made Soyo shudder.

Until now, she had always believed she was the only one who knew the truth.

But after hearing what Chihiro had just relayed, everything had changed in an instant.

Taki must have remembered everything—everything Soyo had once done to their bandmates.

She had thought no one would ever find out. At least, not in this timeline.

Yet somehow, the consequences of something she hadn’t even done in this life had caught up to her.

The problem was…

Well, to be fair, what she had done this time was already pretty outrageous.

The only reason she didn’t feel too guilty was because there was a born villain like Chihiro beside her, sharing the blame.

But in the end, that was just a classic case of diffusion of responsibility—since she wasn’t the only one involved, the burden of guilt didn’t weigh as heavily.

Still, no matter how she looked at it, this time, she wasn’t getting away.

"Soyo, what’s wrong?" Chihiro knocked on the door, twisting the doorknob. "Why’d you lock it? Seriously… what’s with you now?"

"I’m fine."

Soyo let go of Wagahai and forced herself to respond.

"If you say so, then fine."

"…Chihiro?"

"…"

She heard footsteps retreating, followed by silence.

Soyo clenched her fists, furious.

That’s it? She just left?!

"Whatever… This is my problem."

It had been a long time since Soyo had really thought things through.

Ever since Chihiro had completely crushed her intellect, she hadn’t wanted to overthink anything.

But this time was different.

This crisis was aimed at her alone.

And she had no one to rely on but herself.

Who else could she turn to?

The shameless traitor who asked one half-hearted question and then just walked away?

"First… Taki probably remembers everything, but whether the others know is still unclear."

As for why Taki hadn’t told Chihiro more over the phone—or why she hadn’t confronted fake Soyo—Soyo guessed it was because Taki was trying to spare her.

Or maybe…

Her so-called "split personality" had saved her.

After all, who would hold a mentally unstable person accountable?

It’s not like they had committed murder—besides, legally, even real crimes weren’t punishable if the perpetrator was declared insane.

Of course, there was another possibility.

Maybe Taki was giving her a chance.

A chance to admit her mistakes on her own.

So instead of exposing the truth outright, she had only given a vague warning—waiting to see what Soyo would do.

Even if she hadn’t done those things in this timeline…

She had lied. She had manipulated people.

Even though her and Chihiro’s plan hadn’t been exposed yet…

"If this keeps up, it won’t be long before everyone knows."

"And when that happens, both bands will fall apart."

"It’ll be just like last time."

"Haha… Exactly the same."

"Nothing will change."

If she had chosen to do nothing after returning to this life—if she hadn’t gone along with Chihiro’s schemes—then even if Taki had figured it out, she could have denied everything.

After all, this version of her hadn’t done those things.

But that wasn’t how things had played out.

This time, her sins were just as bad—if not worse—than before.

Soyo didn’t know exactly what Chihiro had been up to in the band, but she was sure it wasn’t anything good.

That girl was calculating. She thought of everything.

The failed LIVE? Probably part of her plan.

She was likely just waiting for the band to collapse…

So she could use today’s lies to trick Mutsumi and Sakiko—

And then smoothly pull all five CRYCHIC members back together.

Then, she’d look at her with that smug grin and say:

"See, Soyo? Everyone’s back together now~"

"Though… it’s only for one semester. After all, they all think you’re leaving the country once it’s over."

What could Soyo say to that?

Tell her this wasn’t the ending she wanted?

Hah.

Would that cruel woman care?

She’d probably just bring up their contract, claim nothing in their deal said CRYCHIC couldn’t die again after reviving.

This time, she and Chihiro had messed up far worse than before.

They had even dragged Sakiko and Mutsumi into their schemes without realizing it.

That was way worse than last time, when she had only targeted Anon and Raana.

So yeah.

She was done for.

CRYCHIC…

There was no saving it anymore.

Lying on the bed, eyes blank, Soyo realized something strange.

She wasn’t panicking.

She wasn’t spiraling into hysteria.

She wasn’t storming out to confront Chihiro.

Why?

Why wasn’t she feeling the sheer terror of impending doom?

Why did she feel…

A little relieved?

As if those painful memories no longer bound her.

As if she was finally seeing herself clearly—just another insignificant person in the grand scheme of things.

She closed her eyes, trying to understand her own feelings.

But before she could figure anything out—

Click.

The door unlocked from the outside.

Shit.

She had forgotten—

This wasn’t her home.

This was the villain’s lair!

Soyo’s eyes flew open, only to be completely stunned by what she saw.

A girl with long, wine-red hair stood before her.

A fluffy white hairpin rested on her head—shaped like cat ears.

Her soft, delicate face, for once, wasn’t smirking mockingly.

Instead, she wore an oddly gentle smile.

A black-and-white cross-themed maid outfit hugged her frame.

Her legs were wrapped in sheer black thigh-high stockings, a garter belt peeking out from beneath the hem.

And in her hands—

A silver tray, neatly arranged with slices of fresh fruit.

"Chi… Chihiro?"

Was she dreaming?

Was this really the same devious con artist who tormented her every day?!

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T/N: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH IT SHOULDVE BEEN 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!