Tsuzuki Chihiro’s footsteps paused slightly.
A dozen possibilities flashed through her mind in an instant.
But the most likely one?
This Nagasaki Soyo was probably one of Anon-chan’s classmates from middle school.
If she pretended not to know Anon at all, and this girl turned out to be close friends with her, her cover could be blown within a day.
So what she needed to do now was stay calm—observe the girl’s reaction while steering the conversation back under her control.
All these thoughts passed through her mind in a split second.
On the surface, however, Chihiro smoothly turned back around, placing her tray back on the table with a smile of feigned curiosity.
“Of course, I know her! Anon and I were really close during my time in the UK.”
“I see…”
Soyo, you genius.
Having experienced failure once, she had now become stronger.
This sense of cheating by having future knowledge gave her an almost euphoric thrill.
She suddenly felt like she had the upper hand.
Look at what she just pulled off—using nothing more than an information gap, she had effortlessly extracted a piece of intel her past self had never known.
She had always thought it strange that Anon had transferred to Haneoka at that particular time.
Back then, it had seemed like an insignificant detail…
But now, it was different.
Soyo realized she needed to grasp every little piece of information she had once overlooked.
Wait—no, no, no.
She was getting too caught up in thoughts about CRYCHIC again.
Recognizing the turmoil bubbling within her, Soyo forced herself to self-reflect.
But before she could sort out her emotions, Chihiro spoke again.
“Soyo, you must’ve been Anon’s classmate in middle school, right?”
Soyo instinctively ignored how the teacher had casually switched from “Nagasaki-san” to just “Soyo.”
Instead, she paused for a moment, then smoothly deflected the question back.
“We haven’t seen each other in a while… Sensei, do you know how she was doing in the UK?”
Perfect.
A vague, non-committal answer that left her relationship with Anon up to interpretation.
And in return, she threw back a natural, reasonable question.
Truly the work of a reborn time traveler.
“Well, it’s never easy for a foreigner studying abroad alone,” Chihiro replied, her voice flawlessly neutral.
“When you introduced yourself earlier, you mentioned that you play the bass. After I came back to Japan, I looked into things a bit more—that’s when I finally understood why Anon returned home.”
Shit.
Soyo suddenly realized—
She had been drawn into the teacher’s pace.
And before she could stop herself, her mouth had already opened.
“Why did she come back?”
“The band scene over there is pretty cutthroat. Between that, cultural differences, and some personal reasons, I guess she decided it’d be better to return to school here.”
Chihiro smiled faintly.
“Soyo, you’ve been in a band before, haven’t you? Honestly, I really envy you kids—your passion, your friendships. Even when you have little fights, you can still smile and move on afterward.”
Soyo felt a sharp stab in her chest.
For some reason, the teacher’s casual, friendly expression only made it worse.
She wanted to argue back.
But she couldn’t.
It wasn’t like anything Chihiro had said was wrong.
She might’ve thought her responses were watertight, but from Chihiro’s perspective, this tea-haired girl looked… strangely amusing.
And—was it just her imagination, or did Soyo seem like she was this close to breaking into a nervous sweat?
Of course, Chihiro hadn’t just sat back down to chat about Anon’s past.
Her real goal was to keep this girl contained—make sure she didn’t expose Chihiro’s plans too soon.
Sure, she had already decided to quit the game for good after this last con.
She would meet Anon, tell her the truth, and wash her hands of it all—return home to inherit the family business.
But there was a huge difference between confessing something yourself and being outed by someone else.
That pink-haired girl was sweet and kind.
Even at her lowest, Chihiro had never tried to scam Anon out of her money.
So she didn’t want Anon to be disappointed in her now, at the very last moment.
“Well, it’s about time for me to prepare for my afternoon class,” Chihiro said, straightening out the hem of her skirt as she stood.
Then, just as she was about to leave, she deliberately left behind a parting remark—one that seemed lighthearted but was carefully designed to stick.
“Oh, right. Anon doesn’t know I’m back yet—I wanted to surprise her.”
She smiled playfully.
“If you happen to be in contact with her, don’t tell her anything for now, okay? Otherwise, the special gift I prepared for her would lose its meaning~”
As she spoke, Chihiro reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, round object, setting it down on the table.
“Here—consider this a reward for an enthusiastic English learner.”
And with that, she made her escape from the cafeteria, leaving behind a thoroughly unsettled Soyo.
“This is… a ten-pence coin?”
Soyo stared at the silver-gray coin on the table, an inexplicable sense of unease creeping over her.
After a moment’s hesitation, she pocketed it anyway.
But more importantly…
Would Anon really return to Japan just because she failed to form a band over there?
Was it because she wasn’t good enough? Because she couldn’t find bandmates?
Hmm. That… was plausible.
But Soyo had a feeling there was more to the story.
“Of course, none of this matters anymore,” she muttered to herself.
“Even if I were stupid enough to try forming a band again, I would never let the same—wait.”
Her words trailed off.
Her pupils dilated slightly.
Had she… overlooked something important?
She still hadn’t figured out how “Anon-sensei” and Anon knew each other.
And more crucially—
Chihiro had come back specifically for Anon.
Was she here to help Anon fulfill her band dream?
It was just a theory, but the odds didn’t seem low.
And if she let things play out naturally…
Wouldn’t it all just end the same way?
Wouldn’t Tomori get hurt again?
Wouldn’t everyone’s relationships still shatter beyond repair?
No.
She couldn’t let that happen.
A plan formed in her mind.
Soyo’s lips curled into a confident smile.
“If I remember correctly… Anon and Raana will have their first big fight this Wednesday.”
That was her entry point.
For a fleeting moment, she hesitated.
Was this the right thing to do?
But then she thought of Tomori, always blaming herself.
Of Taki, crying as she walked away, severing ties with her completely.
And objectively speaking…
Anon, for all her vanity, wasn’t suited for a band filled with this many unstable factors.
Even Raana, with her insane guitar skills, deserved to be in a better band.
If nothing ever started…
Then maybe those awful endings could be avoided entirely.
“For CRYCHIC’s sake—for the chance that we might still be able to smile at each other when we meet again…”
Soyo exhaled, bracing herself for what she had to do.
“It looks like I’ll have to be the villain who destroys the band.”
—
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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