Who Can Resist Nakano Nino? [166]

The grand hall was already filling up, crystal chandeliers glittering overhead—every facet catching the light, every glint flaunting the wealth behind the event.

Shirase and Nakano Ichika slipped inside quietly and chose a corner seat where they wouldn’t stand out.

Ichika, still thinking of herself as a small-time actress, murmured, “No one here’s going to notice me anyway.”

Shirase smiled. “That sounds like humble-bragging.”

“Bragging? Why?” she asked, glancing up from the desserts she was eyeing.

“Because,” he said, nodding toward her neatly styled short hair, “when I told you earlier you looked beautiful today, I wasn’t exaggerating.”

Ichika blinked, a soft blush rising over her pale cheeks. “Another compliment. You’ve never kept them coming like this before. Feel free to say a few more—I won’t mind.”

“No can do. My time’s valuable. If you want the high priest of the Praise Cult to keep going, I’ll have to start charging by the minute.”

“What kind of ridiculous title is that~”

Ichika leaned against him, laughing freely, not bothering to hide her delight.

Shirase started checking out the buffet too. He hadn’t eaten dinner, and his stomach was already protesting.

“Hey, Shirase—aren’t you nervous at all?”

While he shoveled cake into his mouth, Ichika whispered, “I just saw so many big names here—there are even members of a top idol group!”

“What’s there to be nervous about? They don’t know me, and I don’t know them,” he said casually.

Ichika pressed a hand to her chest. “But I’m nervous. This is the world I want to work in. Do you think I should go say hi?”

“Sure. If you’re nervous, I’ll go with you,” Shirase said easily. It was just a greeting, after all.

But Ichika shook her head quickly. “No, better not. I’ll wait until I’m famous first.”

“So it’ll look cooler when you do?” he teased.

Ichika giggled, nodding hard. “Exactly! You get it!”

As they chatted, Shirase’s gaze drifted across the hall. Even he recognized a few familiar faces from dramas he’d half-watched with Kojima Kana.

If someone like him could spot that many, it meant the well-connected director really had pulled strings to pack the place with notable guests.

Ichika seemed to be thinking the same thing, murmuring beside him, “The director really has influence. I heard on set that his family background’s no joke, but he was stubborn about refusing help from home and insisted on finding his own investors…”

She covered her mouth and laughed softly. “Though in the end, part of the money still came from his uncle. Without that, no one would’ve funded him.”

Shirase kept eating. “Ah, the power of the rich second generation.”

“Pretty much. He even wrote the script himself. He said this kind of short, episodic series can run forever as long as the ratings hold. But he only plans to do a few dozen episodes—if things go well, other directors will take over. I wonder if I’ll ever get a lead role.”

The topic clearly lit a spark in her. She spoke with quiet excitement, sometimes laughing, sometimes trailing off in thought.

“With how hard you work, you’ll get there,” Shirase said simply.

Just as he spoke—and just as he was scanning the room for Hayama Hayato—he spotted a tall girl in a sapphire-blue gown.

Beside her stood another woman, striking and confident, in a rose-pink gown that clung perfectly to her form.

Neither dress was revealing; only their collarbones and a hint of their backs showed. Yet under the lights, their skin gleamed like polished pearl.

“So they came too.”

Shirase raised a glass of juice, took a sip, and wiped his lips.

“Who?” Ichika turned to look—then froze. “Yukinoshita-san? And her sister?”

Across the hall, Yukinoshita Haruno had already spotted them.

She looked over at her younger sister’s frosty profile and smiled. “Don’t pout. I know you didn’t want to come. I didn’t either. But Mother reminded me—Director Fujii’s family background is substantial. Even the Yukinoshitas can’t snub him.”

Yukinoshita Yukino’s expression didn’t budge.

Seeing that, Haruno’s smile only grew. She leaned closer, voice dropping into a teasing murmur. “Alright, alright. Since I dragged you here, I’ll give you a little gift.”

“A gift?” Yukino’s tone stayed flat. “From experience, when you say ‘gift’ or ‘surprise,’ it usually means you’re about to make trouble.”

“This time I’m not~” Haruno sang. “If you don’t believe me, look over there. Tell me—who’s that?”

Yukino followed her gaze instinctively—

And met Shirase’s eyes.

He was looking right at her. For an instant, something fluttered in her chest.

Then she noticed the girl beside him.

Nakano Ichika.

The persistent one who kept hovering around him.

Ichika noticed Yukino’s gaze and waved brightly, smiling with open warmth.

“Well?” Haruno asked, lips curved. “Surprised to see him here too?”

Yukino gave a small “Mm.” “A little.”

“Happy surprise?”

“Not exactly happy,” Yukino replied calmly. “Let’s just say my mood improved. At least at this suffocating, pretentious ball, there’s one or two people I can actually talk to.”

“And… were you moved?”

Yukino turned a cool stare on her sister. “Are you joking?”

Haruno’s smile didn’t waver. “Just asking. Doesn’t Shirase look great tonight? Even I’m a little moved. You’re telling me you don’t feel anything?”

Yukino gave a quiet, dry laugh. “When you say ‘moved,’ you mean you can’t wait to treat him like one of your toys.”

Haruno picked up a glass of red wine, swirling it lightly. “Since you’re not going over, I will. Shirase looks wonderful tonight—I think I like him very much.”

Watching her sister glide away, her hips swaying in that effortlessly confident way, Yukino froze for half a second—then followed, expression tight.

Annoying woman!

—

This is a fan translation of 谁能拒绝中野二乃呢？by 六花吖六花. 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!