The morning sunlight filtered gently through the window, casting a warm glow across the room. Tsuzuki Chihiro slowly woke up, stretching her arms wide before sitting up in bed.
Her gaze landed first on the neatly folded school uniform beside her bed—Nagasaki Soyo’s spare uniform, prepared just for her.
Chihiro picked it up lightly, the fabric catching the sunlight with a soft sheen. The sailor-style navy blue top and matching skirt were simple yet dignified.
Pinned to the chest was the emblem of Tsukinomori Girls’ Academy. Running her fingers over the badge, Chihiro felt an unexpected wave of nostalgia.
This was her first time wearing this uniform to actually attend school as a student. It felt completely different from the times she had worn it to visit RiNG.
The former meant she was truly a student. The latter… well, that was just cosplay.
And either way… it had been a long time since she had last gone to school.
She slipped into the uniform with practiced ease—the collar lying neatly against her neck, the skirt falling just right around her knees.
Her foot injury wasn’t fully healed yet. While she no longer needed to keep it wrapped in bandages, she still opted to wear tights to avoid drawing Anon’s attention and inviting unwanted questions.
Once her long, slender legs were wrapped in sheer black stockings, Chihiro stood before the mirror. With her face still bare of makeup, she looked every bit the refined young lady of a prestigious household.
There was a quiet grace about her, an elegance that felt natural.
If my parents hadn’t been scammed out of over ten billion yen… If our family hadn’t been destroyed…
Maybe my life wouldn’t have ended up like this.
Maybe I wouldn’t have to wear someone else’s clothes just to go back to being a high school girl.
“Come to think of it… Soyo and I can just swap clothes whenever we want, huh? If I’d met her earlier, I could’ve saved a fortune on buying my own outfits.”
Sigh, freeloading really is the best.
Once she was dressed, she took a little extra time to apply makeup and transform herself into Soyo’s likeness. Then, she stepped out of her room—only to be surprised by how early Soyo had woken up today.
Based on past experience, she was usually the first to wake up, playing the role of a “maid” by preparing breakfast and bento for the great Lady Nagasaki.
But today was different.
Soyo was already up—and she was almost finished setting the table for breakfast.
“Morning~”
“Ah, you’re up.”
Soyo’s expression was strange. There was something unusual in the way she looked at Chihiro, though she kept telling herself to stay calm.
After all, it wasn’t like Chihiro had done anything that outrageous—she had just failed to mention where she ate dinner last night and where she planned to stay from now on.
And really, she shouldn’t be thinking this way at all. Chihiro wasn’t family. She had her own people, her own place to return to.
So why did she care so much about a liar who was bound to leave?
“I sent you those photos last night—did you look at them?”
“Yeah, yeah, I did.” Chihiro yawned. “But I’ll only cover for you in class. Don’t expect me to participate in club activities—I’m not cut out for sawing wood.”
“…”
“You’re acting weird today. Normally, you’d be jumping up and down yelling, ‘That’s art, not sawing wood!’”
“Ah… I-I guess…” Soyo realized she had spaced out and quickly tried to cover it up. “Um, Chihiro…”
“If you’re staying somewhere else tonight, how are you getting to school tomorrow morning?”
“You’ll be going yourself, obviously.” Chihiro rolled her eyes. “What, you thought I’d cover for you for free? That costs extra.”
“Huh? So we’re switching back tomorrow?”
“You don’t want to switch back?”
“Uh…”
Soyo wasn’t sure what she wanted.
If she had to put it into words, she did want to stay as herself until their first live performance was over.
And there was another reason—Taki.
Her behavior had changed, and even though Chihiro had assured her it wasn’t a big deal, Soyo wanted to see for herself.
Maybe… in this timeline, Taki really was the key to everything.
“Fine. Works out for me, actually—I have some things to take care of anyway.”
“What things?!”
“You…” Chihiro narrowed her eyes, staring at Soyo’s sudden outburst. “Pretty sure our contract doesn’t require me to share my private life with you.”
“So let’s try to keep this about work.”
“Work…”
So to Chihiro, all of this was just work?
The cooking, the bento, the suggestions she gave whenever Soyo needed help—it was all just part of the job?
Then again… what did she actually know about Chihiro?
She knew she had a younger sister, Raana. She knew she had returned from England.
But beyond that, nothing.
And suddenly, Soyo felt uneasy.
Like she had unconsciously started thinking of Chihiro as a part of her home.
And now, that family member was leaving.
It reminded her of her mother.
No—maybe, deep down, the feeling of unease had always been tied to her father.
When she was little, her home had been warm and complete. But eventually, her father stopped coming home.
And from that moment on, she began losing things.
First, she lost her father. She lost the surname Ichinose.
Then, she stepped into a new phase of life—one where she first gained things, only to lose them later.
She gained a new home. A new environment. A mother who devoted herself to giving her a better life.
And yet, even her mother stopped coming home.
That had started in her first year of middle school, and it had continued ever since.
Then came CRYCHIC—a place where she belonged.
She had friends she could trust. She no longer feared being left behind when the school bell rang.
And then CRYCHIC disbanded.
Now, it felt like the cycle was starting all over again.
She had gotten used to having Chihiro around.
This liar, who—despite all her falsehoods—never really hid things from her.
This liar, who ate her food, drank her drinks, slept under her roof.
This liar, who borrowed her clothes and even her tights, as if they were hers.
Oh right… even our faces are the same now.
But now, that feeling was back.
Soyo felt a growing distance between herself and Chihiro—just like yesterday, when she first realized things had changed.
And suddenly, Taki and Anon felt different too.
Everything was shifting.
The future she had tried to predict was slipping further and further out of her grasp.
And for the first time in a long while, she felt afraid.
What am I afraid of losing? What is it that I truly want to hold onto?
“Don’t look at me like that. I have to check in on Sakiko, and I told you before—Momo-san still wants to collect my academic record.”
“That’s all?”
“What else would it be?” Chihiro raised a brow at Soyo, who had been lost in thought all morning. Unable to resist, she flicked her forehead.
As Soyo instinctively raised a hand to shield herself from another attack, Chihiro simply smiled.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon. Probably by this weekend.”
After all, Anon wouldn’t last long under her brutal training.
At most, one night. That little crybaby will be drenched in sweat, gasping for air in bed.
Playing guitar is a physical workout, after all.
“Chihiro!”
Just as she grabbed her bento and slung Soyo’s bag over her shoulder, Soyo called out to her again.
“Now what? You’re so needy.”
“You will come back… right?”
“Of course.”
—
T/N: AAAAAAAAAA IFHSAIHFASH YURI LOVE
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!
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