Uncle Hikigaya is Forever Young [70]

"Hey, hey, Sonoko! Eating a burger now—aren’t you worried you won’t have room later?"

Miura Fusako reminded Machida-san gently.

"It's fine, it's fine! I'm always eating burgers—just one won’t make a difference!" Machida-san waved it off breezily, looking completely unbothered.

When working late nights, she frequently ordered fast food deliveries straight to her office. A home-centered woman like Miura-san, who'd spent years comfortably running a household, couldn’t really understand the life of a career woman like Sonoko.

"You really have it tough, huh? Anyway, if you actually get a boyfriend, what’s your plan? Let me warn you ahead of time—even if you find a suitable man, your workaholic attitude will make it tough for him to seriously consider marriage," Fusako gently admonished her, taking advantage of Ryōhei not yet arriving.

"What are you saying? I’ve already mellowed out plenty! When I first joined the industry, I had quite the fierce reputation! Back then, they called me 'One-Punch Machida!' Do you know why my authors gave me that nickname?"

"Enough, enough! I've already heard that story. Like I said, you're way too dedicated to work!" Fusako wore an expression of absolute exasperation. Why on earth was this pretty young woman proud of having such a brutish nickname?

"I know, I know! My mom says exactly the same thing as you do! Honestly, I know there’s some truth to it... But part of me still wants to become the editor-in-chief…"

Machida-san’s voice wavered, stubbornly defending herself. Even though she currently carried the title of Vice Editor-in-Chief at Undying River Publishers, there were already five or six Vice Editors! And even though her position differed from the top by only a single word, closing that gap required more than just solid abilities—it involved good timing, connections, and perhaps even leveraging a bit of feminine charm, which wasn't uncommon in her industry.

When she’d been younger, her pride wouldn’t allow her to accept that. Back then, she'd firmly believed that, as an intelligent, attractive woman, she’d carve out her own path to success.

But now, she was feeling a bit lost.

Over the years, she’d helped her authors publish countless books, which, stacked together, would easily surpass her own height.

Yet her own sense of accomplishment steadily diminished.

Originally, she'd become an editor because she loved literature—seeing words she cherished printed, read, and enjoyed by countless people filled her with profound satisfaction.

Wasn't that what you called passion?

But over time, she'd witnessed the hidden realities of the publishing world:

Books were released just to hit quotas.
Editorial ideas were created out of thin air.
Awards weren’t immune from secret arrangements.

In the end, everything revolved around sales figures.

High workload, low pay, and notoriously difficult authors—all these things had slowly crushed her initial passion, reducing it to a mere "so this is it."

Nowadays, although she hadn't fully decided yet, sometimes she did feel tired of her work. Finding a nice man to settle down with…perhaps that wouldn’t be so bad?

Lost in thought again, she missed Fusako waving a hand in front of her face impatiently. "Spacing out again? Hurry up and finish that! Or do you want to save it for the hotpot?!"

"Huh? Oh, mmhm!"

After all, this was her first genuinely serious blind date, so Machida-san was wary about revealing her real personality too soon. Hurriedly, she opened her mouth wide and stuffed the remaining half of the burger into her delicate, cherry-like lips.

Truthfully, she felt a tiny flutter of excitement, completely unaware that she—a woman almost thirty-two—was no more composed at heart than a teenage girl of eighteen or nineteen.

"Ugh! Your lipstick is almost completely gone now. Hurry and fix your makeup after finishing. You brought lipstick, right?" Fusako-san grimaced slightly, suddenly sounding exactly like Machida-san’s mother.

"I hwavew ith! (#$@&!)… (Of course I do!)" Machida-san muttered indistinctly, mouth still half-full.

Just as she struggled to swallow, Fusako-san’s voice suddenly sharpened with urgency:

"Ah, Ryōhei’s here! He spotted us! Didn't I tell you to act dignified?! Quick, swallow it already! Hey, Ryōhei, over here!"

Fusako quickly stood up and waved enthusiastically, completely forgetting Machida’s current state.

Machida Sonoko shuddered violently in surprise, panicked, tossed her head back, and forcefully swallowed the huge bite—of course, because it was sudden and way too large, she immediately choked!

Not daring to turn around, she desperately grabbed Fusako’s cup of cold water, which had been sitting out for who-knows-how-long, and gulped it down frantically.

"Fusako-san, I hope I’m not late—huh? And who’s this lovely lady?"

As Ryōhei approached, he glanced around briefly, surprised at not finding Miura Kōzō’s blonde-haired daughter. Instead, beside Fusako-san sat a fashionably dressed, short-haired adult woman, clearly not one of her kouhais.

As a mature man in his thirties (at least mentally), Ryōhei had seen similar scenarios more than a few times. Within the short distance between spotting them and walking over, he’d already roughly guessed the situation—especially recalling the suspiciously amused smile Kōzō had worn that night. Now he realized it clearly meant, "Thank me later!"

"Come sit down, Ryōhei! That Yumiko only knows how to have fun, insisting on going out with her classmates. You're her teacher now, so help me scold her sometime! Oh, and this is Machida Sonoko, a very good friend of mine! She just happened to be nearby, so I invited her along. You don’t mind, right?"

Fusako-san’s personality was bright, cheerful, and impossible to dislike. Though her words were obviously forced, she delivered them with such easy charm that it was hard to detect any selfish intentions.

"Not at all—I haven’t eaten hotpot in ages! Hello there, Machida-san!"

Seeing her old friend Ryōhei smiling cheerfully, Fusako felt relieved and secretly delighted. She certainly never expected Ryōhei not to realize this was a set-up date!

Honestly, how many men in their thirties could possibly be as hopeless as Machida in matters of love?

Speaking of which, why was Machida suddenly silent? Had she turned mute?!

Without changing expression, Fusako secretly pinched Sonoko’s thigh beneath the tablecloth.

"Ah?! Hikigaya—Oh no, I'm sorry! Hikigaya-san! Hello!!"

Machida-san, whose face had turned completely red after nearly choking, shyly looked up at Ryōhei.

Something felt wrong!

Her cheeks were heating up, heart beating erratically, breathing labored.

Oh no!

Was this sensation exactly what Kasumi Utako-sensei constantly described in her novels…?

---

A/N: Big-Dango’s (Asuna’s) income mainly comes from her late husband’s compensation, earnings from her pharmaceutical certificate’s affiliation, literary magazine royalties, and some financial help from her family. Didn’t expect so many readers wouldn’t understand "certificate affiliation."

Big-Dango’s family background is a wealthy company-owning household, but not noble like the Yukinoshita clan, who combine government connections and business. They’ll appear later in the story!

This is a fan translation of 比企谷大叔永远年轻 by Stargazer 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!