Who Can Resist Nakano Nino? [164]

Hearing that, Nakano Nino gave a wry smile. “Since Shirase didn’t bring it up himself, I figured my friend must’ve asked him to keep it secret.”

“Oh… so you didn’t want to put Shirase in an awkward spot,” Kana realized.

Nino’s cheeks reddened, and she didn’t answer.

Kana rubbed her temples thoughtfully. “I get it. If I were in your place, I’d probably do the same—keep things quiet and look into it myself.”

“Mm.” Nino nodded softly. That was exactly why she’d come to Kana for help.

Then—bang! Kana suddenly slammed her palm down on the table.

Nino flinched. “Kana-nee, what’s wrong with you?!”

Kana’s expression turned fierce. “I’ve decided—I’m going to help you!”

“Really? Thank you so much!”

“Of course! Together, we’ll uncover Big-Boobs-san’s secret!”

“Huh?! B-Big… what?!”

Nakano Ichika, completely unaware, had already been marked as a “target” by one older sister figure and her own little sister.

Even worse, the two had already named their secret mission: Operation Catch Big-Boobs-san.

Though Nino found the nickname mortifying, she didn’t argue—Kana was already fully invested in the plan, and she couldn’t afford to lose her ally now.

…

Meanwhile, Shirase—his body was going through physical training on autopilot, while his consciousness was inside [Immersive Hosting].

But instead of looking up the faces he’d memorized from the film crew, his thoughts were on the party Ichika mentioned.

A party like that probably meant… dancing, right?

He knew nothing about dancing. Zero interest, zero skill.

Still, it never hurt to be prepared.

“Guess I’ll be busy again,” Shirase muttered, opening Yukinoshita Yukino’s icon.

As a prodigy raised in an elite household, Yukino definitely knew her way around dance and etiquette.

But then he hesitated. “Wait… wouldn’t Haruno-san be even better?”

Recalling Yukinoshita Haruno’s image, he quickly switched selections.

If Haruno taught him, at least he wouldn’t end up bickering every five minutes like he did with Yukino.

Decision made, he confirmed the selection.

Moments later, Haruno’s avatar appeared, her voice smooth and teasing as ever. “So, you want me to teach you the waltz? Then give it your all. I’m not a strict teacher—but fail, and there’ll be punishment.”

Shirase didn’t even flinch. “And if I pass? Do I get a reward?”

“Of course~ But you’ll have to guess what it is.”

Shirase sighed internally. A “reward you have to guess” basically meant no reward at all.

Still, the lesson was fun. He spent two full hours in [Immersive Hosting], learning the fundamentals of both dance and etiquette.

Haruno’s tone stayed gentle and bright the whole time—no arguments, no scolding.

But there was one major problem:

She wouldn’t stop teasing him. Occasionally, she’d even slip in shameless, borderline suggestive jokes.

So instead of snarky debates like with Yukino, Shirase found himself in an entirely different kind of verbal sparring match—competitive dirty jokes.

And he wasn’t losing.

After all, true speed was about how well you handled the corners.

Armed with a deep knowledge of meme culture, Shirase held a subtle advantage.

Soon enough, the night of the celebration party arrived.

After two and a half days of lessons under Haruno’s guidance, Shirase had mastered basic etiquette easily—but dancing was another story.

To really get it down, he’d have to ask the system for hands-on coaching… but knowing its personality, it might run off mid-lesson to “heroically” save someone again.

Life went on as usual in the meantime—school, training, tutoring the Nakano quintuplets whenever he had time.

But lately, Shirase had noticed something strange.

Yesterday, Kojima Kana had kept sneaking glances at him during dinner, then spacing out.

And whenever he asked what was wrong, she’d clam up and change the subject.

At the Nakano house, Nino was acting the same way.

“Are those two… scheming something together?” Shirase muttered suspiciously.

Meanwhile, his edited soccer clips online were starting to lose traction, though they still sparked gossip at school.

Even Isshiki Iroha teased him during practice breaks:

“Hey, you’re not gonna turn into an influencer before graduation, right? Maybe I should start a business and get you to promote my stuff. We could both make a killing!”

Compared to her teasing, the club captain’s reaction was a lot more… opportunistic.

After practice one afternoon, he grabbed Shirase’s shoulders and said solemnly, “I know you’re not interested in influencer stuff yourself, but smaller ones might try to ride your fame. If any cute girls hit you up, just send them to me—I’ll take that bullet for you.”

In short: the captain was eager to challenge his “weakness.”

Among the soccer club regulars, Hayama Hayato was the least interested in gossip.

But since their recent victory in the friendly match, he’d been training harder than ever—so much so that Miura Yumiko had complained several times.

After practice that day, Shirase finished changing and got a message from Ichika saying she was ready and waiting.

As he stepped outside, he spotted Hayama walking over with his bag. Considering their past run-ins, Shirase asked, “Got business with me again?”

“No, just coincidence this time.” Hayama smiled. “I stayed late to practice dribbling, so I’m heading out now. I’ve got a party tonight anyway—no time to hang out.”

“A party?” Shirase paused. Could it really be that coincidental?

Hayama didn’t notice his expression. “Yeah. Honestly, I didn’t want to go, but my dad insisted. It’s some celebration party hosted by a director with connections…”

He chuckled lightly. “You probably won’t believe this, but I looked him up. The guy’s filming a late-night drama with mediocre ratings—but apparently, last week’s episode saw a huge boost because of a super handsome guest actor. The director gave him tons of close-ups, and people online said it was shot beautifully.”

Shirase went quiet.

…No way.

Could the world really be that small?

As they walked toward the school gate, Hayama went on, “Normally a drama like that wouldn’t even get a celebration party, but this director’s got family ties. The show’s main investor is his uncle’s company, and his dad’s the chairman of some massive supermarket chain.”

Shirase let out a complicated sigh. “So what you’re saying is, if the director fails in showbiz, his only option is to go home and inherit his billion-yen family business?”

Hayama blinked, then burst out laughing. “That’s one way to put it—but yeah, pretty much.”

—

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!