Who Can Resist Nakano Nino? [185]

Today, the Service Club was unusually crowded. Though the atmosphere buzzed with lively chatter, Yukinoshita Yukino—the club’s president—did not look the least bit pleased.

Seated to her left, Yuigahama Yui stole a glance at her friend’s cool, unreadable face. Inside, she couldn’t help feeling a mix of awe and confusion. That’s Yukinon for you—always so amazing. It’s only been a few days, and she’s already surrounded by new friends. So why does she look so… unhappy?

Across the table sat Shirase, accompanied by four of the Nakano sisters.

Yes—four. The only one missing wasn’t Miku, but Ichika.

Miku hadn’t planned to come. Filming a short movie didn’t particularly interest her, and after school she’d intended to go straight home. But Yotsuba had stopped her with a cheerful, “Let’s drop by the Service Club together! The more people, the merrier!”

Normally, Miku would have refused. Yet Shirase’s voice from before echoed in her mind—“The five of you are one unit. Missing even one of you isn’t good.”

After a moment’s hesitation, she changed her mind and followed.

This, incidentally, became her first time seeing Yukinoshita Yukino up close.

The rumors hadn’t exaggerated. From her refined features and flawless complexion to her slender waist and long, elegant legs—Miku couldn’t find a single flaw.

As for the flat chest… well, that’s fine, she thought kindly. Puberty wasn’t over yet. Online forums often claimed late bloomers developed best—sometimes “stealing the Baron,” as they put it.

Though, depending on the case, there were also… “Little Baron” thefts.

“—So, Nakano Ichika-san can’t make it today due to something urgent?” Yukinoshita asked, scanning the group with faint disappointment before sighing softly and resting a hand against her forehead. “I’d expected someone else to be absent. I didn’t think the usually enthusiastic Ichika-san would be the one missing.”

“Itsuki said something came up at her part-time job,” Yotsuba replied brightly, raising a hand. “She left in a hurry after class.”

“Oh,” Yukinoshita murmured. “A part-time job, then. Understandable.”

At that, Nino leaned back in her chair with mild irritation. “Who even knows what she’s really up to? Anyway, there are plenty of us here—missing one person shouldn’t matter.”

Shirase chuckled. “Starting to feel anxious, are we? Still haven’t found out anything, huh?”

Nino’s cheeks burned as she glared at him. Does he have to say it out loud?

“What’s Nino investigating?” Itsuki asked curiously.

Miku turned her head too—this was new to her.

Yotsuba leaned in eagerly. “Yeah, tell us! If you’re stuck, I’ll totally help!”

“Eh—uh…” Nino floundered, caught off guard.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t admit she’d been investigating Ichika’s mysterious job. Her sisters all knew Ichika had been working part-time lately. The real embarrassment was her utter lack of progress—even with Kojima Kana’s so-called “expert assistance.”

Every failure only made her remember Shirase’s teasing offer—“I could just tell you,”—and Kana’s pragmatic advice—“Just ask Shirase first and pretend you didn’t know.”

If she’d done that, she thought bitterly, she might’ve at least gotten close enough to uncover Ichika’s lingerie preferences by now.

“Alright, everyone quiet down,” came Yukinoshita’s sharp voice.

It cut through the room like a cold breeze—and incidentally rescued Nino from further questioning.

“This is the Service Club, not a convenience store,” Yukinoshita continued coolly. “I don’t appreciate people chattering like little birds.”

The tone made both Itsuki and Miku frown.

Only Yotsuba, oblivious, whispered, “But little birds are cute. Maybe she’s complimenting us?”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but in the sudden silence, everyone heard her clearly.

Yukinoshita looked at Yotsuba for a long moment. She couldn’t deny that the girl was cute—but that hadn’t been praise.

Is this girl… an idiot?

Her gaze instinctively shifted to Shirase, full of silent accusation: This must be your influence. She’s exactly your type of idiot.

Shirase, not entirely sure what he’d done wrong this time, caught the glare and sighed. “Alright, everyone, let’s hear Yukinoshita out first. She wrote the script herself, so as teammates, we should respect her effort.”

That earned no objections. Everyone settled down and focused on Yukinoshita.

Her cool blue eyes flicked toward Shirase, faintly surprised. You actually sound polite for once?

He caught her look immediately. “You’re totally thinking something rude about me again, aren’t you? Probably imagining something insulting.”

“Indeed,” Yukinoshita replied smoothly, smiling. “Your sudden politeness was… unexpected.”

“Should I just leave, then?” he countered dryly, pointing at the door.

Ignoring him, Yukinoshita turned to the others. “I’ve already finished the script.”

“What?”

The room filled with disbelief.

“Really?” Yuigahama gasped. “It’s only been a few days—how could you finish already?”

Yukinoshita remained perfectly calm, letting their astonishment wash over her. Only when Shirase spoke again did she respond.

“Impressive,” he said sincerely. “Looks like I’m no match for you in this area. I acknowledge your skill.”

“Thank you,” Yukinoshita replied lightly. “Though I don’t recall wanting your acknowledgment.”

It was a beautiful smile—cold, proud, and undeniably challenging.

The veterans of the club knew that whenever Shirase and Yukinoshita exchanged compliments, an argument usually followed.

But before the sparks could fly, Nino cut in. “So, does that mean you’ve also decided who plays which roles?”

“Correct.”

Though mildly disappointed she couldn’t spar with Shirase, Yukinoshita composed herself again. “As Ichika-san mentioned before, this is only a short film, so there aren’t many characters. Most scenes revolve around the female lead.”

“What about the male lead?” Shirase asked.

“There isn’t one,” Yukinoshita said without hesitation. “Just a female protagonist, a secondary heroine, and a few female antagonists.”

“…Don’t tell me you watched Journey to the West and decided to set the story in the Women’s Kingdom,” Shirase muttered.

Yukinoshita didn’t dignify that with a response—just stared at him with an expression that clearly said, What nonsense are you spouting now?

Thankfully, Yuigahama hurried to change the topic, pulling a black folder from her bag. “Yukinon printed out copies for everyone! You can read along.”

Yukinoshita nodded.

Shirase accepted his copy, kept the character sheet, and passed the rest to Nino.

Scanning the list, he saw: female lead, secondary female lead, two antagonists… and then—

“Mob Character A.”

That was the final entry.

Shirase frowned. “What’s this supposed to mean? Usually there’d be Mob B, C, and D too.”

Usually, if you wrote "Mob Character A," you’d have Mob Characters B, C, D, and so forth.

But here, there was nothing else listed.

Only Mob Character A.

Based on his understanding of Yukinoshita Yukino, Shirase knew that if she’d deliberately assigned something as vague as “Mob Character A,” there had to be a catch.

“Mob Character A is your role,” Yukinoshita said flatly.

Shirase’s instincts immediately went on high alert. “What kind of role, exactly?”

“A character who appears for about three seconds, has no name, and disappears. That’s all—Mob Character A.”

“That simple?”

“That simple.”

Her expression didn’t waver at all, which only made Shirase more suspicious.

Could it be… she’s actually not plotting revenge?

Somehow, he doubted it.

While Shirase was quietly trying to read Yukinoshita’s intentions, everyone else had already started looking through the script.

A few minutes later, Nakano Miku lifted her head in surprise. “This… is about school bullying?”

“Mm.” Yukinoshita nodded lightly. “When choosing a theme, I remembered a certain person’s incident on the first day of school. That gave me the idea.”

The moment she said it, all four Nakano sisters—and Yuigahama Yui—turned toward Shirase. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who that “certain person” was.

“The one who sent those bullies flying,” Nino murmured dryly.

“Isn’t this theme a bit too heavy?” she added aloud.

“It doesn’t matter,” Yukinoshita replied calmly. “As long as we film it with sincerity.”

Nino gave her a complicated look. “I’ll admit, the story’s actually pretty good.”

“To be precise,” Miku said softly, “it’s satisfying—seeing the release after all that pressure.”

“The second female lead is so pitiful…” Yotsuba muttered, looking genuinely upset.

Itsuki stayed quiet, sneaking glances at Shirase. He still hadn’t commented once.

In truth, he hadn’t even read the story yet—he was still stuck on Mob Character A.

“I’m glad you all approve,” Yukinoshita went on smoothly. “However, there’s one issue I overlooked. I rushed the script to help Shirase-kun finish his short film, but I forgot—you’re all still students.”

A rare trace of helplessness crossed her face. “Like Nakano Ichika-san’s case today, everyone has their own obligations. It’s unrealistic to expect full availability.”

“Oh, right! Shirase-kun still has soccer training,” Yotsuba chimed in.

Nino crossed her arms. “So, what are you suggesting?”

“We wait until summer vacation,” Yukinoshita said decisively. “In the meantime, you can either return the equipment or use this period to get familiar with it—so you won’t panic and make fools of yourselves later.”

The goodwill Nino had started to feel evaporated instantly. “Excuse me? Who are you calling fools?”

“Even if you’re top of your class, you don’t have to talk like that,” Miku said coolly.

“It was a little harsh,” Itsuki added.

“P-please don’t fight,” Yotsuba pleaded, shrinking back. “Although… I also think Yukinoshita-san went a little too far…”

Surrounded by complaints, Yukinoshita didn’t flinch. “I’m simply stating facts. I despise people who don’t prepare—and I hate last-minute cramming even more.”

Nino sneered. “Then what, you know how to handle a camera?”

“Not just cameras. Lighting, sound, scene layout—I’ve studied them all. Do you want a demonstration?” Yukinoshita replied without hesitation.

Her absolute composure left Nino momentarily speechless.

Even Miku, who had clearly taken Nino’s side, found herself doubting her own irritation.

And Nino, who’d gotten to know Yukinoshita better through Shirase, realized the girl probably wasn’t bluffing.

She huffed softly. “Fine. I’m not arguing anymore.”

Yukinoshita allowed herself a faint smile before turning toward Shirase—her gaze saying wordlessly, See? The girl you like isn’t all that impressive.

Shirase caught the look instantly. “How about we make this interesting, Yukinoshita? You and I—let’s have a little contest.”

That got everyone’s attention.

Nino’s face heated. She knew exactly what he was doing—standing up for her.

Itsuki bit her lip, glancing down.

“You mean a contest over who knows film equipment better?” Yukinoshita asked, instantly reading him.

“Exactly. Just you and me.”

“Not interested.”

Her refusal was immediate.

Shirase raised an eyebrow. “What, afraid you’ll lose? It’s just for fun—no stakes.”

Yukinoshita smiled faintly, perfectly calm. “Like I said, I’m not interested. Playing childish games with you sounds far less appealing than a good argument.”

“You just admitted it! So much for the ‘genius’ persona—you’re really just a sharp-tongued, black-hearted schemer.”

“Oh my,” she said sweetly. “If my words hurt your pride that badly, I suppose I should say thank you.”

The tension between them left the room in stunned silence.

Miku blinked, glancing uncertainly at Itsuki. The expression on Itsuki’s face—tight, conflicted—made her chest twist with something she couldn’t name.

Am I imagining it… or does the way Yukinoshita looks at Shirase seem a bit like how Itsuki does?

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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!