“You guys talking about something?”
When Awa Tendou returned from her phone call, she was met with a room full of people wearing varying expressions—particularly Mori Minami, whose carefully composed face was now tinged with unmistakable awkwardness.
“Nothing much, just some casual conversation with the kids.”
Awa Tendou glanced at her granddaughter but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Seeing no reason to suspect anything, she simply nodded.
But by this point in the dinner, there wasn’t much left to say.
She wasn’t the type to enjoy drawn-out conversations, and Minami, who had been so proactive earlier, seemed to have dialed back her enthusiasm.
Once the younger ones had cleared off the remaining dishes, the group finally left the high-end Japanese restaurant.
“Subaru, get in the car first. I need to have a word with Chihiro.”
“……”
Subaru shot Chihiro a look—one filled with slight regret.
She seemed to be second-guessing her decision to turn down Chihiro’s earlier proposal.
And from her perspective, Chihiro’s speech tonight had probably been directed at her.
Was she trying to tell her to be brave and choose her own path?
But then… what about her grandmother?
She still didn’t have an answer.
As she nodded to Chihiro in farewell and prepared to get in the car, that burgundy-haired girl—who looked soft and delicate but was actually a sharp-witted troublemaker—suddenly called out:
“Subaru, you should chat with Nina and the others sometime. Maybe exchange some acting insights. It’s hard to improve when you’re just figuring things out on your own, you know?”
“Ah…”
Subaru looked back, just in time to catch Chihiro winking at her with a mischievous grin.
A faint smile tugged at her lips.
Her grandmother had only exchanged some pleasantries with Chihiro, but it was obvious she genuinely liked this old friend’s granddaughter.
That thought amused Subaru.
But more than anything, after seeing this other side of Tsuzuki Chihiro today, she found herself rather fond of this girl who was about her age.
And that memory of Chihiro—lounging in the private room after her grandmother had left, long legs crossed, radiating a carefree, rebellious aura—was now deeply imprinted in her mind.
On the ride home with her grandmother, a thought suddenly crossed Subaru’s mind.
Their band still needed a bassist.
Maybe… if the opportunity arose, she could invite Chihiro to join.
If she was still willing to play in a band, that is.
“Finally over…”
As she watched the Awa family’s car disappear into the distance, Chihiro figured she had probably just pissed off Mutsumi’s mom.
Well, pissed off might be too strong a word.
To Mori Minami, she was probably just an unruly, ignorant child—the type she’d want to keep her daughter far away from.
Heh. Joke’s on you. I don’t need my current identity to get close to your daughter.
I can lure her right into my home and make her do things you’d never even dream of.
Cough, cough…
Okay, fine, we just skip class together.
For someone as controlling as Minami—someone with such strict household rules—even the slightest rebellion from Mutsumi would probably feel like the sky was falling.
Still, tonight had gone fairly smoothly.
At the very least, Chihiro had drawn all of Minami’s wrath onto herself, making sure that Mutsumi was just a bystander to this whole “speech from a stranger” event.
And as her mother, Minami would probably just focus on keeping Mutsumi away from her—while nudging her to spend more time with Subaru instead.
Ah, our poor Subaru. Our dear Mori-san has officially labeled you a “Yamato Nadeshiko” now.
Smirking to herself, Chihiro pulled out her phone to check her location.
She still had to keep her promise to give Anon that guitar training session tonight, so she needed to figure out the fastest route to Anon’s house.
But before she could finish checking, her phone lit up with an incoming call.
Soyo.
“Chihiro, you finally picked up.”
“Uh… did you call me a bunch of times? Sorry, I was just—”
“Come back. Now.”
“Huh?”
Chihiro blinked, immediately sensing that something was off.
Soyo’s tone wasn’t its usual sharp-tongued arrogance.
Was she feeling lonely?
Wow. What a tsundere.
If she wanted some company, she could just say so.
No need to be so dramatic.
But Chihiro had already promised Anon, and she wasn’t the type to go back on her word.
After a brief hesitation, she softened her voice apologetically.
“I told you already, right? I won’t be home this week—”
“TSUZUKI CHIHIRO!!!”
The furious roar from the other end cut her off entirely.
Chihiro flinched.
What the hell?!
She had never heard Soyo lose her temper like that before.
She wasn’t just startled—she was genuinely confused.
What did she even do to piss her off this much?
But after that single outburst, Soyo fell silent again.
She didn’t follow up with an angry rant, didn’t bombard her with accusations—nothing.
The only sound that came through was the faint crackle of static.
Seconds ticked by.
Chihiro debated whether she should say something first.
But before she could decide, a quiet, almost vulnerable voice finally drifted through the phone:
“If you don’t come home tonight… then don’t ever come back.”
“……”
For the first time, Chihiro heard Soyo speak to her like this.
For the first time since losing her parents, she found herself wanting to break a promise she could still keep.
“I got it.”
She didn’t ask why.
She didn’t say anything else.
She simply replied in a steady voice and watched as the call was abruptly cut off.
Then, she stood there, unmoving, for over a minute.
Finally, she dialed another number.
“Anon? You home yet?”
“Mm… yeah, I already ate. Had dinner with my grandma’s friend.”
“Listen, I—”
Anon, as always, had a million things to say.
She chattered away, her voice lively, like an oversized pink-haired puppy excitedly seeking attention.
But Chihiro interrupted her mid-ramble, exhaling slowly.
“Anon… something came up.”
“I can’t come over tonight.”
She sighed, realizing more and more how heavy the word promise could be.
Maybe it was best not to make them at all.
Because eventually, they always became too much to bear.
But then, in the next moment—
To her surprise, or maybe not—Anon responded instantly and cheerfully:
“That’s totally fine, Chihiro-nee!”
“Actually, this works out great! My fingers finally get a break!
“Oh, wait, no, I still have to practice, or Taki will yell at me…”
“Anyway, just come over when you’re free, okay? I’ll be waiting~!”
“Mm. Sounds good.”
Chihiro smiled.
Anon really was too easy to appease.
A true ray of sunshine.
Even when the sun set—it always rose again.
—
T/N: MY GOODNESS… why does Soyo sound like a scorned wife hehehueheuheu
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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