Chapter 255 - Two-Hundred and Fifty-Five: Car Accident
*Boom!* *Bam!* Two deafening noises rang out.
The last thing Yun Nan realized before she blacked out was that the car behind them and the car before them on the left had both crashed into theirs. The huge impact caused the airbags to pop out, and regardless of his own safety, Shi Nian had dove to shield her head in his arms.
When Yun Nan slowly came to, the first thing she felt was the intense pain throughout her whole body. Every part of her body hurt except her head. She couldn\'t help but let out a low grunt at the pain. Yun Nan opened her eyes, then shut them again and blinked hard.
Her surroundings were dark and unfamiliar. Yun Nan tried to recall the last thing she remembered… \'We had a car accident!\' At that thought, she immediately exclaimed, "Shi Nian!" but her voice came out low and hoarse.
Yun Nan struggled to sit up, pain everywhere on her body. "Shi Nian! Shi Nian!" She called out lowly and groped around in the darkness, searching for him. Finally, her fingers met something soft; it was a body. Yun Nan\'s spirits lifted, and ignoring her pain, she crawled over and fumblingly pawed at it. Her eyes gradually adapted to the darkness, allowing her to see that the person lying motionlessly not far away from her was Shi Nian.
"Shi Nian! Shi Nian!" Yun Nan cradled Shi Nian\'s head and called his name softly. Her palms were wet with what was probably blood. \'Shi Nian is also injured,\' she realized. She remembered that, at the end, he had shielded her head instead of himself.
Yun Nan felt both touched and heartbroken. "Shi Nian!" she cried. She carefully lifted his head slightly and gently pressed her forehead against his. Shi Nian was burning up; he had a fever.
Yun Nan could feel a sharp pain in her left leg; it probably got injured in the car crash. Her ribs were probably injured as well because every breath she took stung. A few spots on her arms were also numb with pain.
Shi Nian must have hurt his head. Yun Nan couldn\'t tell if he had any other injuries. \'He\'s running a fever right now. What should I do?\' Yun Nan thought anxiously.
Yun Nan forced herself to calm down and began muttering to Shi Nian, telling him about their current situation despite his state of unawareness. "Shi Nian, our car is missing, and we\'re in a house, not at the crash site. Shi Nian, we might—might be kidnapped. Our phones are gone. What should we do, Shi Nian?" Although she knew Shi Nian couldn\'t hear her, Yun Nan was at the end of her rope.
She had no idea who would want to kidnap them. She was hungry, thirsty, and in pain. Shi Nian was also injured, and he had a fever. \'What now?\' she inwardly despaired.
Yun Nan closed her eyes and focused, trying to sense her surroundings. When she opened her eyes once more, her vision was clearer, and she could hear the faint sound of water dripping.
She gently put Shi Nian down and tried to stand up, but her left leg was in excruciating pain and couldn\'t support her body. She fumbled around, and her fingers bumped into an iron rod. The rod rolled to the side, clanging noisily.
Yun Nan was shocked at the loud noise and even held her breath, fearful of any nearby kidnappers that might have heard the clamor. No one came in, but the din seemed to have awoken Shi Nian.
"Yun—Yun Nan…" Shi Nian mumbled softly. Yun Nan couldn\'t care less about the rod. She quickly crawled back to Shi Nian\'s side. "Shi Nian, Shi Nian. Wake up. Wake up."
Shi Nian reached out and felt around, only stopping when he touched Yun Nan\'s hand. "Are you hurt?" he asked.
"No, I\'m fine," Yun Nan calmly lied. Shi Nian visibly relaxed at that.
Yun Nan supported his head and let him lean against her body. She tried her best to ignore the pain her body was in and inquired, "Shi Nian, your head\'s injured, and you\'re running a fever. Aside from your head, does anywhere else hurt?"
Shi Nian paused momentarily before answering, "...My chest—chest hurts, and... and my right hand."
Yun Nan mentally sighed and pressed her face against Shi Nian\'s forehead. "Someone must have dumped us here. We\'re in what seems like an abandoned house, but it\'s very dark. I can\'t see anything clearly."
"Hmm," Shi Nian grunted and drifted off once again. Yun Nan knew Shi Nian had a fever. She had to think of a way to get Shi Nian\'s fever down. She needed water.
She carefully put Shi Nian down and said, "Shi Nian, wait here. I\'ll go look for some water." She groped around for the rod again, and after a few attempts, she managed to stand up with the rod\'s support. It was a painful and tiring endeavor, and she was sweating all over.
However, the pain in her chest and leg made it impossible for her to walk over, even with the rod\'s support. Yun Nan had no choice but to put down the iron rod and crawl once more.
Following the sound of dripping water, she finally crawled to the water source. It was an old faucet situated not far from the ground. It was about the height of those taps used to wash mops. Yun Nan propped up her body and managed to reach the faucet, but she couldn\'t twist it open.
After some strenuous efforts, she panted and rested beside the tap. She gathered her strength and went back to twisting the faucet. After several attempts, she finally turned on the tap. Only a thin trickle of water flowed out of it, but Yun Nan was just glad to have water at all. She was extremely thirsty and started drinking in large mouthfuls.