Who Can Resist Nakano Nino? [186]

After Yukinoshita Yukino managed to stir up a wave of hostility, the Nakano sisters’ favorability toward her instantly tanked.

Even though Yuigahama Yui tried her best to smooth things over afterward, it didn’t help much.

Meanwhile, since Yukinoshita and Shirase’s latest contest hadn’t produced a clear winner, Shirase simply took the script from Nino and started reading.

Like the previous character sheet, the story mainly centered on the four girls.

All of them were high school students, and the setting took place on campus.

The plot was straightforward: the second female lead was bullied by two infamous girls at school. Too scared to fight back, she endured their escalating torment until her mental state completely collapsed, leading to severe depression and eventually hospitalization in a psychiatric ward.

The protagonist—her friend—initially knew nothing, since the victim kept silent. She only uncovered the truth through her own investigation.

The second half of the story focused on the protagonist’s revenge. It wasn’t simple face-slapping—it was meticulous, step-by-step payback.

She began by publicly humiliating the bullies at school, then escalated things through media exposure until the case drew social attention and even official involvement.

Through this process, the protagonist’s darker side surfaced. Her friend’s breakdown ignited the fire of vengeance in her heart. Amplifying the situation, she anonymously exposed the bullies’ personal information and home addresses online, making the case go viral.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—that phrase summed up the story.

In the end, the bullies were forced to move and transfer schools. Yet the protagonist continued investigating, tracking them down again—ready to resume her revenge for her friend’s sake.

After finishing the script, Shirase’s first impression was that the first half raised his blood pressure, but the second half was deeply satisfying.

Now he understood why the Nakano sisters had debated whether the plot was “too sharp.” School bullying was already an explosive topic. And Yukinoshita Yukino, inspired by his own experience of being forced by the system to beat up bullies on his first day of school, had written a revenge story out of it.

Originally, Ichika had just wanted to use this short film project to practice acting and give her sisters a mental buffer. When her career as an actress inevitably went public, at least they’d be mentally prepared.

But after reading this story, Shirase realized this film couldn’t be treated casually anymore.

To do it justice, they’d have to go all in.

Like the Axe Gang boss said, “This is called being professional.”

“You done reading? What do you think?” Yukinoshita Yukino asked when she saw him put the script down.

“It’s genuinely excellent. With the right direction and tweaks, it could provoke serious reflection on school violence—or even touch on human nature,” Shirase said after a pause.

Yukinoshita smiled in satisfaction. “I knew you’d see the deeper meaning. That’s exactly what I aimed for.”

“Eh? It had that kind of meaning?” Yotsuba blinked, looking adorably lost.

Yukinoshita nodded. “Yes. That was my goal from the start. If I’d just wanted to make a farce or some generic short film, I could’ve pulled an outline from the internet in three days.”

She glanced at Shirase. “Before you read it, I thought—if you can act somewhat normal today, you’ll get what I meant. Clearly, my instincts were right.”

“Still finding time to praise yourself, huh? Truly on brand,” Shirase sighed.

Yukinoshita wasn’t offended in the slightest. “Since everyone agrees it’s good, let’s wait about a month. We’ll start filming when summer vacation begins in July.”

“No problem,” Shirase said immediately.

By July, even if Ichika was busy with acting jobs, she’d at least have some time off during break.

“Then it’s settled,” Nakano Nino said thoughtfully after seeing Shirase agree. “We’re usually free during vacation anyway. Even if some of our time’s already booked with Shirase this year, we can still make room for filming.”

“‘Booked with Shirase’? What’s that supposed to mean?” Yuigahama Yui asked curiously.

Since Nino had said we instead of I, Yui couldn’t help but wonder—surely Shirase wasn’t rotating dates with all five sisters?

“Because Shirase’s tutoring us,” Miku explained seriously, holding her script. “Our grades aren’t great, so he’s become our tutor.”

“Shirase’s your tutor?” Yui was stunned.

Her face clearly said, We agreed to level up together, and you secretly evolved into the boss?

“Yep! Shirase’s super good at teaching! All our grades have gone up. Even Kana-nee praised us,” Yotsuba said cheerfully.

Itsuki quietly shrank back, looking embarrassed.

She’d often get distracted during tutoring, sneaking glances at someone instead of focusing—so despite being the diligent one, she was progressing the slowest.

Even Ichika, the chronic slacker, had improved faster.

Though the sisters didn’t openly compare, it was impossible not to notice. Living together made that contrast all the more obvious.

“If he’s teaching you, that’s actually a great idea.”

Just then, a familiar voice came from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Kirisu Mafuyu walk in gracefully, her legs wrapped in neat black stockings.

“Kirisu-sensei? What brings you here?” Yukinoshita asked, surprised.

Kirisu shot a quick look at Shirase—who was smiling faintly—then adopted a serious tone. “Simply put, Shirase told me about your film project. As a teacher, I’ve decided to help you complete it.”

“Oh? If Kirisu-sensei’s willing to help, that’s perfect,” Yukinoshita said, though her eyes flicked toward Shirase.

She knew Kirisu Mafuyu had no real connection to her. There was only one reason she’d show up here—Shirase.

That confused Yukino. From what she knew, Shirase was closer to Hiratsuka-sensei or Kojima Kana.

Hiratsuka-sensei often praised him in front of her. If that eternally single woman had volunteered, Yukino wouldn’t have been surprised at all.

So this guy’s not just popular among students—teachers too, huh, she thought wryly.

Everyone welcomed Kirisu-sensei’s help and updated her on the filming delay.

Kirisu felt a little disappointed—after all, she’d mainly come for Shirase’s… cooking.

After the meeting, everyone left the Service Club. Yuigahama Yui looped her arm around Yukinoshita’s, the two looking unexpectedly close. Yukino tried to pull away with a reluctant expression, but they still walked out arm in arm.

“By the way, Shirase, since you don’t have training today, wanna play tennis again? Like last time?” Yui asked.

Last time, only Yukino and Shirase had played; she hadn’t gotten enough.

“Tennis?” Before Shirase could answer, Nakano Nino shot him a sharp look.

Miku and the others, walking ahead, also stopped and turned back together.

Unbothered, Shirase said honestly, “Yukinoshita invited me last time. But it wasn’t casual—it was a competitive match.”

Yukinoshita met his gaze. “Even I have to admit, you’re naturally athletic. Unfortunately, your tennis skills are still beginner-level.”

Do you believe I’ll make you teach me tennis as soon as we get home tonight?

Shirase cursed under his breath but said aloud, “But you’ve never beaten me—a total beginner. Doesn’t that make us evenly matched? Two rookies pecking at each other.”

“Please don’t lump me in with you. We’re nothing alike.”

“How so? My technique’s awful, your stamina’s awful… Oh hey, what a coincidence! You were born from a mother, and so was I—doesn’t that make everyone the same?”

“Wonderful. You’ve once again achieved a new personal record for stupidity.”

As their bickering went on, Nakano Nino tugged Shirase’s sleeve and asked sweetly, “Did you two have fun last time?”

“I told you already, it was a competitive match, not fooling around.” Shirase saw right through her teasing and laughed. “But since we’ve got some time now, how about a match?”

Nino froze, completely caught off guard by his sudden invitation.

Then she huffed, pretending to act above it. “Fine, I guess I can reluctantly play with you for a bit. But don’t take too long—I still have to go home and cook dinner.”

“I wanna play too!” Yotsuba raised her hand enthusiastically, dashing over. “Let me join! I’m actually pretty good at sports, you know.”

Itsuki hesitated in place—she wanted to join as well.

“If you wanna go, just go,” Miku’s quiet voice came from beside her.

Itsuki jumped, flustered. “Y-you know tennis isn’t really my thing, I just—”

“But you’ve got ‘I wanna join’ written all over your face,” Miku cut in flatly.

Itsuki averted her eyes, unable to respond.

Miku’s expression turned complicated. After a moment, she sighed and said, “Itsuki, what you’re doing isn’t right—and it’s not good for you either.”

Itsuki’s heart lurched. Her face went pale.

Did Miku figure it out?

She suddenly remembered that strange conversation the other day—how Miku had asked her those testing questions. She’d been terrified then, and hearing such loaded words again now made her knees weak.

Seeing Itsuki’s tense, frightened expression, Miku swallowed back the harsh words she’d been about to say.

“Geez, why are you making that face?”

Miku clenched her fists, troubled. They were sisters—family for life. How could she ever bring herself to be that cruel?

Itsuki hung her head, looking completely defeated, like a scolded grade-schooler.

“Forget it. Just stay here and play with them,” Miku said quietly before turning and walking away alone.

As she left, she made a firm decision.

I need to talk to Shirase. I can’t let Itsuki keep going down this path.

Her shoulders suddenly felt heavier—as if she’d just taken on the role of the reliable older sister who had to lead the family forward.

“Yukinon, why don’t we stay and play too?” Yuigahama Yui suggested brightly when she saw Shirase already surrounded by four players. It looked like they could form doubles teams.

Yukinoshita Yukino glanced at Nino’s sweet smile beside Shirase, then shook her head. “No thanks, I have to go practice piano.”

“Oh… okay. Be careful on your way back.”

“Mm.”

In the end, Yuigahama decided to stay.

At her suggestion, everyone agreed to play doubles. But with one extra person, they’d have to rotate.

When it came to picking teams, Shirase spoke first. “I’ll team up with Nino.”

Nino sneaked a glance at him, her cheeks reddening.

Yotsuba waved her racket cheerfully. “Then I’ll team up with Itsuki or Yuigahama-san!”

“You pair up with Yuigahama-san first. I’ll be the referee,” Itsuki said calmly. For some reason, she no longer felt like playing.

As the four stepped onto the court, Shirase reminded them, “Be careful not to move too wildly.”

“Why?” all three girls asked, puzzled.

He pointed to their short school skirts. “If you move too much and aren’t wearing safety shorts, you might flash someone. Most students are gone now, so no one else will see—but it’d still be awkward if I did… well, except for Nino, of course.”

“That last part was completely unnecessary!” Nino snapped, blushing furiously as she pressed her racket against his face.

Yuigahama and Yotsuba exchanged a look—they had to admit, he had a point. Flashing by accident would be mortifying.

Just then, Shirase gently caught Nino’s racket and murmured, “We’ve already won.”

Still flustered, Nino blinked. “What do you mean ‘already won’? Are you really that confident?”

“It’s not confidence,” he said seriously. “After my little reminder, they’ll be too self-conscious to move freely. They won’t be able to return our shots.”

“???”

Nino stared at him in disbelief. “You were scheming just now?”

Shirase answered matter-of-factly, “Technically, only halfway.”

“Which half?”

“The part about wanting to see under your skirt—that was completely sincere.”

“Get lost!”

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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!