Chapter 203: Got Sick

Chapter 203: Chapter 203: Got Sick

Nan Zhi fell ill after all.

She hadn’t felt anything on the way home, or even during dinner.

But as night fell, a torrential rain began to pour, and the wind rattled the loose windowpanes.

Nan Zhi’s head felt heavy and muddled, and she alternated between chills and feverish heat.

These were the tell-tale signs of a cold.

So, Nan Zhi ended her livestream early, found some cold medicine in her personal pouch, and took it with warm water.

She didn’t want to worry Nan Yi, so she deliberately went into the inner room.

But Nan Yi, who had been quietly reading at his little table, seemed to have a sixth sense and suddenly ran over to her.

His eyes widened the moment he saw the medicine box.

"Mom, are you sick?"

His voice was tight with tension.

Nan Zhi calmly set down her cup and smiled.

"Not at all. This is just to be safe."

She was sitting on the edge of the bed, propping herself up with her arms.

In reality, her mind was growing increasingly fuzzy. The drowsiness from the cold medicine only made matters worse.

It made her speech slur, so she had no choice but to pull back the covers and lie down.

"It’s still early, Yiyi. You can play by yourself for a bit. Remember to go to bed when you’re tired... Mom’s going to sleep now..."

Her voice grew fainter with each word.

The last few words were barely a murmur.

"Mom!"

Nan Yi clutched the corner of the blanket, terrified, as if the whole world had abandoned him.

He saw his mother struggle to lift her eyelids for a glance at him before they fluttered shut again, and she sank into a deep slumber.

Her face was ghastly pale, and her brow was slightly furrowed, as though she was uncomfortable even in her sleep.

Nan Yi hated this feeling.

He was beside himself with panic. He wanted to call out to his mom, but he was afraid of waking her.

Caught in a dilemma, he didn’t dare go anywhere. He didn’t even want to read his book. Like a little guardian, he squatted by the bed and watched over his mother, not blinking for a second.

He squatted for a long time, until his little legs grew numb and his eyes began to sting.

When he looked at his mom again, she seemed to be sound asleep, her brow finally smoothing out.

Nan Yi heaved a huge sigh of relief.

Based on the common sense he had accumulated in his four and a half years of life, he figured his mom’s cold medicine was starting to work.

"Good night, Mom."

He said it obediently, even though he knew his mom couldn’t hear him.

Then he turned off the light, lifted the covers, and carefully lay down beside Nan Zhi.

He gently hugged Nan Zhi’s arm, snuggling against her like a little koala.

With that, much of the terror in his heart faded, replaced by a sense of peace.

Drowsiness soon washed over him, and Nan Yi quickly fell asleep.

He didn’t know how much time had passed...

Nan Yi suddenly woke with a start.

He felt scorching hot, as if he were being enveloped by a ball of fire.

’But I’m sleeping soundly in bed, where would a fire come from?’

He sat up, dazed, rubbing his sleepy eyes with one hand while the other clutched the corner of Nan Zhi’s shirt, refusing to let go.

As he gripped the fabric, he finally discovered the source of the scorching heat.

It wasn’t a fire.

It was his mom! She was burning with fever!

"Mom! Mom!"

Nan Yi was so frightened his voice trembled.

He gently leaned over Nan Zhi, his first instinct to listen for her breath.

Nan Zhi’s breathing was rapid and erratic from discomfort, and Nan Yi’s own little heart began to beat in a panicked rhythm.

He pressed his lips together tightly and tried to shake Nan Zhi awake.

But Nan Zhi seemed to have lost consciousness. Her eyes were shut tight, beads of sweat covered her forehead and the tip of her nose, and her lips were completely devoid of color.

In that moment, however, Nan Yi was calmer than he had ever been.

A rationality far beyond his years burst forth from his small, fragile body. He didn’t burst into tears or freeze in panic.

The very first thing Nan Yi did was grab the phone to call the production team—

He knew he was too young and too small. In a crisis, he had to get help from an adult.

It was a good plan, but things rarely go as expected.

He pressed the button on the phone twice, only to find the screen was black. It wouldn’t turn on.

’Is it out of battery?’

Suppressing the trembling in his little hands, Nan Yi slid off the edge of the bed and ran to the outlet at the foot of the bed to charge it.

Then he discovered that the charger wasn’t working either.

A thought struck him, and he scurried over to the door to flip the light switch.

The light didn’t turn on. The room was pitch-black and silent, making the sound of rain lashing against the leaves outside even clearer.

’The power is out.’

Nan Yi clenched his little fists, forcing himself to calm down and think about what to do next...

’Oh, right! I remember the way. I can go get help!’

"Mom."

He whispered her name softly, but his gaze grew determined, filled with courage.

He immediately ran to the suitcase, pulled out some clothes, and quickly changed.

He put a raincoat on over everything.

Before heading out, Nan Yi saw two umbrellas leaning in a corner: one black, one red.

He had a flash of inspiration and picked the red one.

A color like that would be more visible on a dark, unlit night.

Once everything was ready, Nan Yi stood on his tiptoes to undo the latch and pull the door open.

The wind howled, and a fine spray of rain blasted his face.

Nan Yi summoned all his strength and forced the umbrella open against the wind and rain.

Before stepping out, he glanced back at the silent inner room.

Then, he decisively shut the door and set off on his quest for help.

The world was a swirl of gray gloom, a tempest of wind and rain.

A tiny figure could be seen faintly on the muddy country path—

The umbrella was huge, and Nan Yi struggled to hold it up.

The wind whipped the umbrella this way and that.

It sent his small, frail body stumbling along with it.

Nan Yi struggled to wedge the handle between his shoulder and neck, just barely managing to keep the wind from ripping it away.

He trudged through the mud, one deep step after another. His little body swayed, but he pushed forward resolutely toward his goal.

It was easy to lose track of time in the dark.

Nan Yi didn’t know how long he had been walking. He simply followed the route from his memory, flawlessly navigating the small path until he reached the main, paved road.

He knew he was more than halfway there.

’Almost there.’

He tried to reassure himself.

But it was too dark to see where he was going. He didn’t notice a small rock underfoot, and he slipped and fell!

THUD.

The dull thud was not accompanied by any cry of pain or sob.

It was as if Nan Yi couldn’t feel the pain. He just frowned at his torn raincoat, tightened his grip on the umbrella, and gritted his teeth as he climbed back to his feet...

In the distance, the warm yellow beams of a car’s headlights cut through the rain, arriving like an unexpected gift.

But Nan Yi’s brow furrowed. He felt no joy at the sight.

He didn’t think encountering a car in the mountains late at night was a good thing.

He even wanted to quickly duck into the bushes and hide until the car had passed.

But at that exact moment, the red umbrella he was holding was incredibly conspicuous.

The people in the car, not far away, must have seen it.

The car began to slow down, eventually coming to a stop.

Without a second thought, Nan Yi turned to run!

The moment he moved, pain shot through the leg he had scraped on the rough stones, severely limiting his speed!

Unflustered, Nan Yi tightened his grip on the fruit knife he was carrying, staring like a wary wolf cub at the car that had stopped in the downpour.