Misfortune

At seven in the morning, as the faint light of dawn crept in from outside, Lin Yu finally drifted into sleep...

And then...

"Wake up."

"It's eight o'clock."

"We need to go."

?

Dazed from exhaustion, even the question mark forming in Lin Yu's mind floated up sluggishly.

Half-asleep, Lin Yu followed Qing Mo into the car, reclined the passenger seat, and simply chose to continue sleeping elsewhere...

...

"SCREECH!!!"

"BANG!!!"

In the sudden, violent impact, Lin Yu didn’t even have time to utter a word before his entire body was flung into the air, smashing against the roof of the car before crashing back down.

"Damn it..."

After a pained curse, Lin Yu forced his eyes open, taking in the sight of the once-elegant car interior now twisted and wrecked. It didn’t take long for him to realize what had just happened.

A car crash?

As the reality sank in, Lin Yu’s first instinct was to turn and check on Qing Mo.

Qing Mo was in relatively good shape. Thanks to her seatbelt, she hadn’t been injured—just visibly shaken, her face pale with shock.

"You really know how to drive, huh?"

Seeing that Qing Mo was unharmed, Lin Yu relaxed slightly. Despite the pain coursing through his body, he still found the energy to throw a sarcastic jab her way.

His voice snapped Qing Mo out of her daze. She turned to look at him, her dark eyes suddenly widening, her expression shifting to alarm.

"Lin Yu, are—are you okay?"

She reached out as if to touch his forehead, but her hand froze mid-air.

"Me?"

Lin Yu was puzzled by her sudden urgency—until a warm, sticky sensation trickled down his brow. He instinctively raised a hand to touch it.

"Holy shit!"

The bright red on his fingertips made his stomach drop. Only then did he realize his forehead had been split open during the crash, blood pouring relentlessly.

After a brief moment of shock, Qing Mo scrambled to find something to stop the bleeding. Rummaging through the car, she only managed to dig out a pack of tissues.

Pulling out two sheets, she pressed them firmly against Lin Yu’s wound.

Lin Yu, finally processing the situation, lifted his own hand to take over, holding the tissues in place.

The blood continued to flow, staining his eyebrows, clinging to his lashes, and creeping toward his eyes.

Feeling the tissues grow damp and warm under his fingers, Lin Yu’s heart sank. This wasn’t just a minor cut—it was bad.

Qing Mo, meanwhile, had already pulled out her phone to call for help while grabbing more tissues, pressing them gently but swiftly against his forehead.

Lin Yu took over again, holding the fresh layers in place. With Qing Mo handling the emergency call, he turned his attention to the more pressing question.

"What the hell did you hit?"

As he spoke, he craned his neck to look outside.

The windshield was completely shattered, a spiderweb of cracks obscuring the view.

Squinting through the fractured glass, Lin Yu caught a glimpse of what lay ahead.

A... rock?

Confused, he glanced to the sides, and it took him a few seconds to grasp their surroundings.

To the right of the road was a near-vertical gray-brown cliff face, stretching endlessly alongside the highway, disappearing into the distance.

To the left, a steep slope covered in untouched snow, its depth impossible to gauge.

After a quick assessment, Lin Yu reached a conclusion.

Qing Mo had made the right call!

If she hadn’t swerved into the cliff, they’d have gone careening down that slope—pedal to the metal, straight to the afterlife...

...

Wait a minute!

Why did it have to be one or the other?!

Couldn’t you just drive normally on the damn road?!

The realization brought a flicker of irritation. Lin Yu shot Qing Mo a reproachful look.

Do you even know how to drive?

We almost got isekai’d again!

He wanted to complain, but the sight of Qing Mo’s increasingly pale face made him hold back. Instead, he asked with concern:

"What’s wrong?"

Qing Mo slowly lowered her phone. She turned to him, guilt flashing in her eyes as she hesitated before speaking.

"There’s no signal here."

"What?"

"No signal?"

Lin Yu’s voice rose in disbelief.

He glanced outside again at the pristine wilderness of snow and trees before turning back to Qing Mo, his tone bordering on hysterical.

"Seriously?"

"Girl."

"Where the hell have you taken us?"

"Is this even still the country?"

"No—wait!"

"Even abroad, there should be signal, right?!"

The gravity of their situation hit Lin Yu hard. In his agitation, a sharp, throbbing pain shot through his skull, twisting his expression in agony.

"Don’t get worked up," Qing Mo urged, leaning closer. She pulled out two more tissues, ready to layer them over the blood-soaked ones on Lin Yu’s forehead.

"Hold on."

Lin Yu suddenly raised a hand, signaling for silence.

Qing Mo obeyed, freezing in place. In the quiet, Lin Yu sniffed the air, his expression darkening as he asked:

"Do you smell that? Gasoline?"

At his words, Qing Mo stiffened. She inhaled lightly, and her face mirrored his grim realization.

They exchanged a glance—then moved in unison, scrambling to open their doors.

Qing Mo’s door resisted at first, but after two hard shoves, it gave way.

Lin Yu’s side, however, was completely mangled. No amount of brute force would budge it.

Not wasting time, Lin Yu clambered over to Qing Mo’s seat and squeezed out through her door.

The two of them bolted five or six meters away, stopping only when they deemed it safe. Turning back, they stared at the wrecked luxury car, its front end crumpled beyond recognition.

A cold wind swept through, stirring fine snowdust from the mountainside. Unlike in the movies, the car didn’t explode.

They looked at each other, and for some reason, Lin Yu felt the urge to laugh.

He couldn’t hold it in. The moment he cracked up, Qing Mo followed, her laughter bubbling out in a soft, unexpected giggle.

The usual coldness in her features melted away, leaving only striking beauty—and a hint of adorable charm.

But the moment Qing Mo laughed, Lin Yu stopped.

He scowled, putting on his best stern face.

"You think this is funny?"

"Look what you did to the car!"

"And you’re laughing?!"

Qing Mo stifled her giggles.

After a half-hearted scolding, Lin Yu leaned against the roadside guardrail and asked, curiosity getting the better of him:

"You still haven’t told me."

"How the hell did you manage to drive straight into a wall?"

At the question, a flicker of confusion passed over Qing Mo’s usually composed face. She murmured,

"As I turned the corner just now, a goat suddenly appeared in the middle of the road, charging straight at me. In my panic, I instinctively swerved the steering wheel to avoid it."

"And then..."