Uncle Hikigaya is Forever Young [42]

As the old saying goes: "Ignore your elders' advice, and suffer before your eyes."

Right now, Machida Sonoko was beginning to believe it a little.

Back in the carefree days of her university life, her mom had repeated this advice in her ears endlessly:

"Stop playing around! Quickly find yourself a good man!"

"Stop playing around! Quickly find yourself a good man!"

"Stop playing around! Quickly find yourself a good man!"

...

But she never listened. She felt that a life of just getting married after graduation meant her future would be visible at a glance.

Life should be about poetry and distant dreams!

After graduating from university, her mom asked her to return home and wait to be married off. The nagging resumed:

"Once a girl passes XX age, she won't find a husband anymore! At that point, you'll only get to choose from the leftovers! Women age quickly; if you don’t grab hold of your youth now, it'll vanish in a flash!"

Still, she refused to listen, believing firmly in becoming strong through forging oneself! If she was outstanding enough, wouldn’t men naturally flock to her?

And then, inevitably, came the familiar cycle:

Marriage nagging—rebellion—marriage nagging—rebellion!

Machida-san and her mom had fought countless battles over this.

At first, Machida-san genuinely didn't want to marry young, throwing herself entirely into her career as an editor.

She even accomplished quite a bit.

But this caused her relationship with her mother to become increasingly strained.

And gradually, even without realizing it herself, her resistance became less about her own feelings and more about refusing to admit defeat in front of her mom.

Deep down, she knew—if someday she finally decided to marry, her mom would immediately seize the chance to lecture her: "See? This is what happens when you don’t listen! Now you know you're wrong! Parents always think of what's best for their children… (ten thousand words omitted here)"

At least, that's what Machida Sonoko thought.

But honestly, in the eyes of her friends, Machida-san had some minor personality flaws or quirks of her own.

She was an adult, after all. Machida-san was well-educated, attractive, elegant, and she'd had plenty of suitors a few years back, including some she found acceptable.

But none of them had worked out.

Then suddenly, at twenty-nine years old, poor Machida-san discovered to her horror that nobody sent her flowers on Valentine's Day anymore.

Only then did she start to seriously panic and ask herself: "Should I get a boyfriend after all…?"

However, by this point, all the decent male acquaintances she had from work were already mercilessly claimed.

The faster ones already had kids old enough to fetch soy sauce at the store.

As an editor, her social circle wasn't exactly huge.

Approaching thirty, she still lacked any mature strategies for hooking a man.

This year, just after celebrating her 31st birthday, she couldn't feel happy at all.

If it weren't for one of her authors suddenly becoming popular in the last couple of years, thus pushing her career upward, she might've already fallen into depression.

Yet, even so, Machida-san still felt increasingly panicked.

At twenty-nine, some enthusiastic friends had tried setting her up on blind dates—but just as her mom had warned, all that remained were leftover men, and Machida-san had rejected them without exception due to her stubbornly high standards.

By thirty, her friends began to look uncomfortable whenever the topic of her personal life came up, no longer eager to help.

And now, she was already thirty-one! Ahhhhhhh!

Even at this miserable point, Machida-san had stubbornly argued with her heartbroken mother. Tonight, after working late, she'd come home to another fierce fight, with her emotionally unstable mom screaming at her to quit her job immediately, and even her normally peacemaking father scolding her harshly.

In the end, Machida-san—editor to a bunch of successful authors, who oversaw more than ten books annually, and who might become deputy chief editor next year—was chased out of the house by her mother, broom smacked firmly upon her head.

"Haah… How many times have I told you? You were wrong to deliberately provoke your mom even at this stage. Look at me—I’m only slightly older than you, but Yumiko’s already in high school! When I was Yumiko’s age, I’d already confirmed my relationship with her father."

"Don't bully me just because I'm younger! That was clearly puppy love!! I remember clearly how Kōzō-san was beaten up by your father when he caught him near your house!"

The two women sat chatting on the sofa.

The gentle and mild Miura Fusako, after hearing Machida Sonoko's disastrous evening, couldn't help but lecture her softly. Machida-san stubbornly mouthed off as usual, probably a habit picked up from handling her flock of unreliable authors.

Miura Fusako and Machida Sonoko had known each other since childhood as neighbors. Fusako was the slightly older, ideal daughter from "another family."

"That’s ancient history. You’d better worry about yourself instead. Make an effort—maybe you’ll manage to get married before turning thirty-two next year."

"Ugh! How mean! I'm still pretty attractive, aren't I? Who'd believe I'm already thirty-one if they didn't know?" Machida-san complained, even as she slurped up the bowl of noodles Miura-san had hurriedly prepared for her.

"If you're aiming for marriage, you'll have to reveal your real age eventually."

Slurp!

Machida-san fiercely sucked in another mouthful of noodles, feeling deeply wronged.

If her group of unreliable authors ever saw their usually cold and mature editor acting like this, who knows what would happen—they'd probably get cooked alive.

"You can stay here tonight. We can sleep together like we used to. Eat slowly; there’s still more in the pot. Honestly, you should learn a little housekeeping already—you're over thirty now," Miura-san teased with a pale but gentle smile, propping her smooth chin with one hand, firing yet another unexpected arrow.

Machida-san didn't mind anymore. She remembered something Miura-san had mentioned previously.

Actually, she'd wanted to ask as soon as she'd sat down on the sofa.

"Hey… Alright, fine, I admit I probably should lower my standards a bit. I was immature before." Machida-san felt slightly uneasy under Miura-san’s mysterious smile, averting her eyes nervously before continuing, "But I'm serious this time. You said before that you had someone suitable for me?"

"I do, actually. Last time, when I wanted to tell you, you ran off to take care of some author of yours."

"I've already turned off my phone!" Machida-san immediately set down her bowl and grabbed Miura Fusako’s hand eagerly.

So soft and smooth! It had been ages since the two of them had been this intimate, Machida-san thought to herself.

Damn it!

Fusako-san was clearly older, and she was a full-time housewife always busy with chores—why was her skin still better than hers?!

"He’s one of Kōzō’s good friends. Should be thirty-four this year, I think? That’s not too old, right?"

Machida-san nodded.

"His character is impeccable, he’s polite and dependable. Also seems to earn a decent living…"

Machida-san nodded again.

"Graduated from Tokyo Gakugei University. It might not be as prestigious as Gakushuin or Tokyo University, but it’s still a top-tier, highly respected school."

Machida-san immediately nodded vigorously.

As she spoke, Miura-san gently took out her phone, tapping it open to reveal a recent photo her husband had sent over, placing it before Machida Sonoko.

"This is the man. How about it? Can you stand looking at him?"

"Oh-ho… He’s not bad at all!"

Machida-san fluttered her eyelashes, rubbing her neck with her right hand while holding the phone carefully with her left.

---

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!