Who Can Resist Nakano Nino? [189]

Shirase fully expected Nakano Itsuki to go quiet inside the room.

He waited a few seconds, and sure enough, her voice came again: “Just leave me alone for a bit. I’m really not in the mood to talk.”

“What a coincidence,” he said. “I’m not ‘anyone.’ You can talk to me. And if you don’t want to talk, we can play something instead. I usually have no teammates—always solo-queue. Quick, open up and let me trick—uh, convince you to duo with me.”

Sitting on her neat, soft bed, Itsuki listened to his rambling outside and almost smiled.

He was always messing around in front of her—never serious, constantly spouting nonsense just to grab her attention.

She touched her warm cheeks, and the smile faded as she remembered Nino stopping by to check on her.

Her hands balled into fists. She murmured, “Forget it… I just want to be alone.”

“You’re just like Nino and the others, huh? Completely ignoring me, the mighty Benlei Shou—Wen Tailai.”

“What is he even talking about…”

Before she could figure out who this “Benlei Shou” was, Shirase continued, “I baked cookies just to visit you, and now you’re shutting me out? You’re putting me in a tough spot!”

He sounded like a dude about to flip a table—like the next line would be, ‘Tough spot? Then don’t bother.’

Itsuki knew he was joking, but it still stirred complicated feelings. “Shirase… did Nino send you?”

“Actually, no,” he said. “Miku did.”

“Eh? Miku?”

That caught her off guard. She hadn’t expected him to come because of Miku—and it wasn’t like he’d lie about something so small.

Her mood grew even messier.

After all… Miku knew her secret.

While she was still processing it, she heard Shirase mutter in surprise, “Huh? You didn’t lock the door? Then why was I standing here like an idiot?”

Unlocked?

Itsuki froze. After Nino left, she’d totally spaced and forgotten.

She jumped up, face flaming, rushing to lock it—only for the door to swing open first.

The instant Shirase appeared, her body stopped like someone hit pause—or triggered a Time Stop meme.

Either way, she wasn’t moving.

“Mind if I come in?” he asked, already stepping inside.

Confident, unbothered—utterly fearless.

He even shut the door for her.

As the latch clicked, she snapped back to herself and realized they were alone in her room. Her cheeks went scorching.

“I didn’t say you could come in! Entering someone’s room without permission is rude!” She tried to bluff him back out.

But Shirase’s aura was stronger. “True, you didn’t say yes—but you didn’t object, either. So I reasonably assumed you implicitly agreed.”

“I did not! Not even implicitly!”

“Well then, are you going to kick me out? If you do, I’ll be extremely devastated. Do you know how heavy ‘extremely devastated’ is?”

“Not at all!”

“It means I’ll be so devastated I’ll hallucinate my great-grandma doing the Yaohua Dance.”

“…What kind of awful metaphor is that?”

She shot him an exasperated, amused look. Thanks to his silly detours, the panic and awkwardness ebbed.

Unable to actually throw him out, she sighed. “Fine, sit down. I only have snacks. Want some?”

“I brought snacks,” Shirase said, lifting a bag. “You want some too, right?”

Her face heated again. After a beat, she nodded.

She took the cookie he handed over and bit it gently—then suddenly realized:

What am I doing? Why am I so weak? One cookie and I’m done for?!

She pressed her lips together, ready to speak—but Shirase immediately handed her the entire bag. “If you want them, the whole bag’s yours.”

Itsuki: “…”

“What’s with that face? Hoping I’ll stay and cook dinner? I’m feeling lazy, but if Itsuki herself asks, maybe I’ll make my best dishes for everyone.”

Itsuki: “…”

I want to say no! Why can’t I just say no?

Her resolve wavered. She silently accepted the bag, telling herself she’d only taken one bite before—you couldn’t judge from that, so another cookie didn’t count.

Shirase’s combo flowed so naturally she couldn’t resist and just went with it.

Watching her every expression, Shirase knew he’d gotten off to a great start.

Not a zombies-talking-to-humans kind of “great,” either.

Next, she probably wouldn’t resist him.

Thinking it through, he decided not to dive into the main topic yet and circled around instead. “Do you know the difference between a girl idol group and a yakuza gang?”

“Hah?”

Itsuki blinked. Why that question?

Unfazed, Shirase smiled. “Both groups wield blades. Idols use blades to harvest fans’ wallets; yakuza use blades to cut people.”

“…I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“My point is: when you hit a problem, try different angles instead of spiraling alone. Like, if you saw a really beautiful pigeon, what would you think?”

“Um… maybe take a picture with it?”

“See? That’s typical—girls see something pretty and want a photo. But I’m different. When I see a beautiful pigeon, I immediately think of a flight attendant with an amazing figure.”

“…”

Itsuki stared, deadpan. “Now I get why Ichika and Nino sigh at home: you look handsome, but sometimes your brain just doesn’t work.”

“But you’re still chatting with someone whose brain doesn’t work,” Shirase teased. “Doesn’t that mean we’re the same type?”

“Nonsense! You’re the idiot, not me.”

“Calling me an idiot again? Didn’t I say personal attacks are banned?”

“Idiot, idiot, idiot! You’re just an idiot!”

She rattled it off, a spontaneous smile blooming before she realized it.

Click—camera shutter.

She froze, then saw his phone and flushed scarlet. “What are you doing?”

Shirase gestured for patience, then flipped the screen around.

In the candid shot, the girl was smiling—pure, bright, full of the easy joy only someone her age could have.

Shirase said softly, “When Itsuki smiles like this, even the tsundere—Nino—would admit you’re cute. So stop making them worry with that gloomy face—it’s no good.”

Itsuki’s face went crimson as she finally surrendered, completely.

---

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!