TNIBFT -Chapter 29 What are you thinking?

Ye Shuangxue looked at Ye Tian’s profile. The icy barrier in her heart seemed to crack all of a sudden, and a quiet warmth seeped through her limbs.

Ye Tian’s kindness toward her left her utterly flustered.

“Shuangxue…”

Just as she was dazed, Ye Tian’s large hand waved in front of her eyes. “What are you thinking about?”

“This dress is so pretty. Do you want to try it on?”

Seeing Ye Tian’s bruised and swollen face staring at her, Ye Shuangxue’s mind suddenly flashed through countless days and nights—scenes of her and her brother being beaten by Ye Tian, being sent out into the wind and snow to fend for themselves, being humiliated with her head stepped on in public by Ye Tian.

Could she forgive him so easily?

Just because he was kind to her for one day, could it erase all the past pain?

Her gaze turned cold. She lifted her head and looked at the little dress hanging on the wall. “I don’t like it.”

“Don’t like it?”

Ye Tian looked puzzled. The fierce little flower had just been fine a moment ago—why was she unhappy now?

Ye Shuangxue turned away without even glancing at the ready-made clothes and stood by the doorway, watching the busy street outside, her thoughts unreadable.

Xiao Jiang’s cheeks were flushed. He looked at this dress, then that one, completely enchanted, but didn’t dare touch the new clothes, let alone try them on.

Children’s tastes might be different from an adult’s.

Thinking of this, Ye Tian looked at his son and daughter. “You two look at whatever you like. If you like something, Dad will buy it for you today. Don’t be shy.”

After saying this, he turned to the shop owner. “Do you have a cotton-padded jacket for me? Just something simple and warm, reasonably priced.”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

The shop owner nodded with a smile and quickly bent over to rummage through the cabinets for clothes.

A moment later, he handed Ye Tian a gray padded jacket and a dark blue padded jacket. “There’s a fitting room in the back. You can try them on inside. I’ll watch the two kids—absolutely no problem.”

“Alright.”

Ye Tian took the clothes and nodded. In this world, there were no human traffickers. If children went out alone and weren’t foolish, they could usually find their way home without issue.

“Choose for yourselves. When you’re done, have the shop owner bring it down and try them on.” Ye Tian reminded the two children before turning and heading into the backyard.

The clothes the original owner had worn were long past their prime—sour, smelly, stiff, and soaked with sweat residue. Ye Tian didn’t care about style; clean and warm was enough.

Once Ye Tian left, the shop owner saw the two children looking around. Smiling, he said, “The one who went in must be your father, right?”

“This is my first time seeing a man come buy clothes with his kids. I’ve never seen a man care about children so much…”

The shop owner shook his head with a smile.

Ye Shuangxue quickly said, “No, he’s not.”

After saying that, she realized she had misspoken and quickly turned her gaze elsewhere, no longer speaking to the shop owner.

Was Ye Tian attentive to them?

Compared with other fathers now, Ye Tian was indeed different. In the village, Zhuzi’s father was stern every day. Zhuzi feared him like a cat fears a mouse and wouldn’t dare say a word. Even if his father spoke, Zhuzi could only answer “yes.”

Thinking this way, Ye Tian truly was not like other fathers.

“Sister…”

Xiao Jiang frowned and tugged at Ye Shuangxue’s sleeve. “He’s different now. He buys me buns, takes us out to eat, even buys us clothes. And when you were falsely accused, he didn’t even wipe his hair…”

These past couple of days, Xiao Jiang had been sticking close to Ye Tian. He had witnessed Ye Tian’s change, and he knew how flustered Ye Tian had been when his sister was wronged.

“Don’t forget the past.”

“All your injuries, plus mine, and the cut on brother’s head… the new ones added onto the old ones—they were all from him!” Ye Shuangxue said angrily, but her mind kept replaying Ye Tian’s smiling face. Feeling a twinge of guilt, she continued, “Who knows what he’s planning now?”

After speaking, she crossed her arms over her chest and, in the air of a little adult, looked toward the door.

Her big dark eyes rolled, and her small pink lips curved slightly. Ye Tian had money, hadn’t he? Hadn’t he told her to pick whatever she wanted?

Thinking this, Ye Shuangxue glanced at the cotton-padded clothes on the rack. “Boss, can I have that set?”

The shopkeeper followed her pointing finger and saw that she had picked the most intricately made, most ornate set of children’s cotton clothes. He smiled warmly. “Why don’t you ask your father first?”

“The embroidery, craftsmanship, and fabric on this set are top-notch. The price isn’t something ordinary families can afford…”

“My dad said I could choose myself!”

Before the shopkeeper could finish, Ye Shuangxue interrupted.

Xiao Jiang anxiously said from the side, “Sister, this outfit looks really expensive. We don’t have that much money.”

Ye Shuangxue didn’t care—she just wanted to embarrass Ye Tian.

The shopkeeper had no choice but to get a ladder to fetch the clothes from the top. Ye Tian, having just changed clothes, came out from the back door and overheard the children’s conversation. Lifting the curtain, he saw the plump shopkeeper on the ladder getting the clothes.

Hearing footsteps behind her, Ye Shuangxue turned and saw Ye Tian in a clean gray cotton outfit. She froze, staring at him in awe.

So Ye Tian really wasn’t ugly.

“What are you thinking!”

Ye Tian stepped forward and gave Ye Shuangxue a smack on the head.

“You actually hit me…” Ye Shuangxue was stunned. Ye Tian had actually hit her! She looked up with wide eyes, glaring at him in anger.

Ye Tian said, “Were you planning to wear this outfit?”

Then he turned to the shopkeeper. “Never mind, we’re not buying these clothes.”

“You told me to pick myself!” Ye Shuangxue stubbornly looked at him, clearly saying, you didn’t keep your word. Ye Tian could read this little rascal’s mind easily.

“I told you to get new clothes, not to deliberately pick the most expensive ones. Are these clothes practical for us? With our land and our village, how could we wear this? Look at all these tassels—squatting in the field would be impossible. Don’t you know what kind of family we come from?”

“After buying these clothes, will our family even have enough to eat?”

Ye Tian didn’t indulge bratty behavior. Fulfilling her demands without reason would only lead to second and third times.

Ye Shuangxue rolled her eyes and walked off. Xiao Jiang glanced at his sister, then at Ye Tian. Seeing his sister upset, he lifted a foot to follow, but Ye Tian said, “Don’t mind her. She’ll calm down soon.”

The shopkeeper looked awkward. “Kids are like this—stubborn and unreasonable. They’ll understand when they grow up.”

Ye Tian said, “If you let them do whatever now, they’ll only think they’re right when they grow up.”

“Xiao Jiang, have you chosen?”

Hearing Ye Tian ask him, Xiao Jiang quickly said, “Yes! This one for brother, this one for me.”

Looking at the two sets of cotton clothes in his son’s hands—one dark gray, one deep green—Ye Tian nodded with a smile. “My son has great taste. I think Xiao Jiang will look good in it. Let’s get two sets so you can change.”