Read section 3. 二谷 sounds like a creep. He only found a woman sexy when he lost respect for her and she appeared weak? I guess his upbringing must have something to do with it, a grandmother only favouring the son of the family doesn’t sound all that lovely. And I wonder if there’s more to the story on why his mother doesn’t cook for him (I misunderstood, he lives alone), and how it connects to him seeing food as sustenance only. I wonder what 芦川 sees in him, they seem like they have nothing in common. That he speaks gently? Of course, we haven’t seen her point of view at all. I suspect she’s not nearly as weak as she appears.
5 Likes
SAME! Ugh, I was thinking the same thing. I was starting to dislike him when he started to think that he was gonna get laid on the third date (and there didn’t seem to be much of a connection but whatever). And then he goes on to say that he likes weak-looking women that seem to be pushovers and need to be protected. Hoping that 芦川 isn’t really like that.
3 Likes
Section 3. Man I regret what I said about 二谷 in section 2 
I‘m just thinking to myself why are you dating her if you feel annoyed at everything she says or does? Just stop going out with her already. Or is it that he just wants to get laid? 芦川 probably wouldn‘t be my kind of person either, but 二谷 is just weirdly rude. She didn’t do anything wrong.
3 Likes
Yes, exactly! I’ve listed the last word of each section in the OP, so you can hopefully keep track of the numbers.
Yep, the writing style is not exactly easy to read
Everything below refers to section 2:
Yes, this happens a lot.
Yep, I liked that too, how he wanted to understand what her points of friction were. (And I must say, I would be annoyed with her as well…)
3 Likes
Okay, well, she uses polite speech in the same speech bubble in the sentences before that, so I wasn’t really confused by that
Done with section 4. I‘m confused by 二谷 and his goals in this relationship. He seems to have quite a transactional view of relationships / marriage? I don’t think I could date someone I don’t respect.
He does seem to like her however? Or at least he seems less annoyed by her. Watching her at work, watching her expressions. But also not really appreciating her cooking, idk, and also feeling the need to hide his cup noodle consumption? Why can’t you talk about that.
But there’s probably a lot of people out there with marriages like these. „She cooks for me, is generally cute, we both like dogs, so I must be content.“
Idk that‘s the vibe I’m getting.
5 Likes
Alright, after reading section 4 I was seriously confused, and still am, I guess…
So let’s talk about the timeline 
Section 1: Boss goes to eat with the gang. Let’s call this NOW, I guess?
Section 2: After the training event, 二谷 and 押尾 go drinking. This is still NOW?
Section 3: 二谷 was transferred to the Saitama branch 3 months ago. This is still NOW?
In his first month, he made a (customer-facing) mistake in his work which was mainly due to 芦川 making a mistake that he didn’t double-check on.
At the welcome party the day after he joined the branch, he already heard a lot about 芦川 and casually checked her relationship status. Because he thought of his grandma who wished for grandchildren, and so he feels pressured, I guess.
And so on the occasion of the mistake and how 芦川 reacted (in his first month), he approached her. Then we have the story of the three dates, which all happen around that time, I assume.
OK so far so well, and now:
Section 4: It is morning, and the viewpoint is from 二谷. I assume it’s the morning after he went drinking with 押尾 as he mentions a headache. (So we’re back in the NOW.) At the konbini he bumps into 芦川 and they talk about facial expressions.
Then we have the scene where 二谷 and 芦川 are in his apartment and she cooks for them. This is then also in the NOW.
OK I guess I solved my problem. I somehow got horribly confused how the dating events and the drinking event were related time-wise, either the dating being the result of the plan to tease her, or the plan to tease her being the result of them having broken up, but it seems to happen nicely in parallel.
6 Likes
“nicely”. I remember being so mad at him. Why TF are you agreeing to bullying your own girlfriend?!? What kind of sociopath do you have to be??
5 Likes
Ah yes sorry I should have put that in quotes as well… Glad my irony came through nonetheless
I think that’s exactly why I had such a hard time putting this on the timeline
5 Likes
Read section 4. I was very surprised that we didn’t get 押尾’s point of view again. We also saw no sign of the bullying yet.
That’s the impression I’m getting too. “I’ll have to get married sooner or later, since I’m not strong enough to resist the pressure to do so, and I guess she’s as good as any.” That’s the vibe I’m getting. He does seem surprisingly caring when he covers her with the futon so she doesn’t catch a cold, but the pot noodles scene was so weird. He had just eaten a properly cooked meal. Was he still hungry? Didn’t he like it? Is he addicted to pot noodles? I guess he could still be hiding it out of consideration for her (“she will think her cooking didn’t satisfy me, and I don’t want to hurt her”) but I somehow doubt it…
The 二谷 kind. Even if we ignore his agreeing with a random coworker to bully his own girlfriend, he still strikes me as a sociopath.
This is fun! 
6 Likes
Section 5.
This was a longer one. We go back to 押尾‘s viewpoint. Probably my favorite. I have to say I feel her struggles regarding 芦川. I think everyone knows someone like 芦川 in real life and probably has felt mad at them at one point. Even if they’re a nice and likeable person. Which is why, apart from the plan to bully her and the prolonged 悪口 about the same old, I have to say I like 押尾.
Quote I liked: 結局我慢する人とできる人とで世界がまわっていく。
I like how straightforward 押尾 and 二谷 can be with each other. Very different and refreshing dynamic.
I don’t see why 二谷 can’t just not continue seeing 芦川 (and stop cheating on her lmao) and switch his mind to „yeah marrying 押尾 would work“. Is she not obedient / docile enough for that? Not 弱々しい enough?
I wish we could see a date with 押尾 from 二谷‘s perspective. I want to know what he thinks about her. We’ve seen some snippets here and there in the sense of „I bet 押尾 snores like a normal person“, but not much.
6 Likes
Oh, I might have to read this! Only just noticed this thread. Great timing, I guess, cause there currently is a 40% points back deal on Amazon
4 Likes
Section 5:
Not much to add to what @Myria said above.
They have meaningful, interesting conversations, common interests and different interests, and though he had this business going on with staring coldly at her, he stopped when she asked him to. (For a moment I was not so sure he would, actually.)
I was quite impressed by the story of how his sweat flew onto the books 
How can he produce so much sweat? This is beyond my imagination.
6 Likes
Oh, indeed I guess you might enjoy this immensely 
4 Likes
Finished section 6 and 7.
I‘m sensing some strong self-loathing from 二谷. Maybe that’s the reason he’s with 芦川? To have someone „normal“ in your life who‘s socially accepted as a romantic partner, idk. Maybe he wants to forcefully accustom himself to her way of thinking, for example regarding food. Because he’s just weird about food.
And 押尾 lying to get him to like her is a classic, but also … food seems to play quite a big role in her life, so why lie about it like that?
I definitely need more 押尾ｘ二谷.
7 Likes
Finished section 5 last night but was too tired to post. Interesting how much more natural the dynamic between 押尾 and 二谷 felt, compared to the forced relationship (as far as we see, at least) between 二谷 and 芦川. However, even if we got 押尾’s point of view, I’m wondering what she’s playing at. She now knows 二谷 and 芦川 are going out, even if he doesn’t know she knows, and still she purposefully goes out alone with him, talks again about the bullying (although giving someone work appropriate to their position doesn’t look much like bullying to me), and even asks to go visit his room and creates the conditions to get intimate with him. She herself says she’s not sure she likes him, so why? Is this also part of the bullying? Is she trying to test 二谷’s loyalties?
6 Likes
Section 6. I’m starting to think that the book is about career and life choices. I’ve started to like 二谷 again. He’s evidently unhappy, constantly choosing things he believes are better choices over those he actually likes. Studying economics instead of literature is one of those things, 芦川 the good potential wife is another. 芦川 also deserves better. Instead of working at a company she doesn’t like, she would would probably be better off working in a food-related job. She might also be happy being a housewife, from the little I know of her. It’s possible she’s just looking for a husband to settle down, but I don’t think 二谷 is that husband. Surely you’d want someone who actually appreciates what you do?
And section 7. 押尾 is using the old and trusted method of lying about yourself to make the other person to feel like you’re kindred spirits. She’s consciously trying to make 二谷 like her and open up to her, but I’m not yet sure whether it is in an honest interest to build a relationship with him, or part of a mysterious manipulative plan. It’s interesting how everything revolves around food (well, there’s the book title, so it’s not exactly unexpected). Will 二谷 start enjoying food by the end of the book? That would probably be a little too wholesome, but who knows. In the few Japanese books I’ve read so far, I’ve often noticed this judgmental attitude towards anything not home-cooked and balanced. I mean, we all know about the benefits of healthy eating, but it still seems a bit extreme to me. It’s interesting to see a totally different point of view from 二谷.
Section 8. So not even 芦川’s brother respects her? Or maybe not even the dog? 
7 Likes
Oh, thank you! I totally missed that and forgot you guys do it on here
Fell behind on reading and just finished this section. The sweat was all I could think of despite the nice writing and dynamic between 押尾 and 二谷. Looking forward to reading the rest of the comments tomorrow and seeing if I am catching as much as I can from the story. 
4 Likes
Section 9. More wrong choices. Both 二谷 and 押尾 do the things they do with diligence, even if they don’t like them, and then end up resenting those who don’t take them as seriously. It looks like 芦川 may be the happiest one in this bunch. She only exerts as little effort as she can get away with at work, is even free from the responsibility of taking care of the dog at home, and concentrates on only what she enjoys. Clever girl. But I feel for 押尾. Even if she had chosen a job she loved, it’s well known that turning your hobby into work just means you’re out of a hobby.
7 Likes
Section 10. Can I just pause and applaud the writing here? The simple process of eating a cake felt like a scene from a horror movie, the destroying of a peach tartlet in the dark, empty office felt almost like murder. Just amazing. I enjoyed the sheer awkwardness of the too-small cake in an office environment a lot. But those two scenes were just outstanding. Poor android 二谷 trying to convince his coworkers he’s a real boy who enjoys cake just as much as everyone…he must have some past trauma regarding food, I can’t explain how he can find no pleasure in any food at all.
Why can’t I stop reading this?
7 Likes
Last update for today, I promise
Section 11. Nailbiting stuff! I was worried it wouldn’t end well, but all turned out okay. And 芦川 was as reliable as ever…
Section 12. They decided what?! Seriously? She brings sweets to apologize for leaving work early, and then they decide to pay her for that? So she’s paid for not doing her job, and paid for bringing sweets? And why does everyone have to pay? I guess because they all either like them or pretend to. And 二谷 pays for the privilege of doing extra overtime so he can get to ritually destroy them alone. Not crazy at all, no. Everything’s fine. I wonder when they’ll be found out in the garbage.
6 Likes