TNIBFT -Chapter 35 Father Was Wrong

Ye Yunting wrapped himself in his tattered cotton coat, squinting at his younger siblings. “Let’s go.”

After saying that, he turned and climbed onto the ox cart, which was covered in snow.

Ye Shuangxue glanced back at the dilapidated house in the blizzard, hesitating. “Big brother, aren’t you going to wear the cotton coat he bought you?”

“No need.”

Ye Yunting’s face was expressionless. He didn’t want to owe Ye Tian anything. At least later, when he remembered, all Ye Tian had given him would be seen as ill will, and he wouldn’t feel guilty.

Xiao Jiang stayed silent. He stared at the dark house, feeling a pang of disappointment. He didn’t even say goodbye to Ye Tian.

When he got home and the house was empty, would Ye Tian feel sad? Would he think of them?

The snow fell harder.

Fang Shenghu frowned, gripping the edge of the ox cart, and warned the three children, “If anything happens, make sure someone sends word.”

“Be obedient. It’s not too late to regret this now. Yunting, take good care of your siblings. I’ll visit when I get the chance.”

Panting, he chased after the cart, leaving a trail of footprints in the snow.

White mist burst across his face. Looking at the three children, he felt reluctant to leave them.

“Uncle Fang, you should go back.”

Ye Yunting waved him off. Ye Shuangxue and Xiao Jiang, the siblings, watched Fang Shenghu while sniffling. Xiao Jiang cried out, “Uncle Fang, when I come back, I’ll earn money to buy you meat buns!”

“Uncle Fang, we’ll be obedient.”

The three children waved at him. Fang Shenghu, gasping for breath, stood in place. Sending someone off a thousand miles always ends in parting.

How far could he see them off?

Watching the ox cart grow smaller in the distance, Fang Shenghu’s eyes reddened.

Ye Yunting was precocious. The three siblings had endured too much suffering. Ye Yunting didn’t trust Ye Tian, and he couldn’t change their feelings or decisions. All he could hope for was that the children would have a better future.

…

“The sky seems like a dome, covering all the land…”

The old cart driver waved his small whip while singing obscure and hard-to-understand lines. The white, vast land was silent, with only the slow-moving ox cart.

Xiao Jiang and Ye Shuangxue huddled together, listening to the sound of wind and snow. Xiao Jiang felt anxious about their uncertain future.

The city lord’s mansion… what kind of place was that?

The melodious, rising and falling tones made Ye Shuangxue curiously look at the old man’s back. “Grandpa, you sing so beautifully.”

“Hahaha…”

The old cart driver beamed, turning to Ye Shuangxue. “Such a clever little girl. No wonder your father was worried about you all.”

Ye Yunting’s eyes flickered.

Ye Shuangxue looked at her elder and younger brother.

The old cart driver continued, “When I came to Mingfeng Village, I met a man claiming to be your father. He handed me your parcels in advance. Don’t forget to take them when you get off.”

Parcels?

The three children looked astonished.

The old man rambled on, “With snow this deep, I wouldn’t have bothered coming if he hadn’t added extra money…”

It was Ye Tian!

Ye Shuangxue suddenly sat upright, grabbing the old man’s sleeve. “What did he give you?”

“Was it him… he asked you to deliver this to us?”

Ye Shuangxue’s eyes widened, mist forming in them.

That damn Ye Tian knew they were leaving but didn’t stop them. He even gave the driver extra money. Did he really dislike the three of them so much?

Then why had he taken them to eat at the restaurant, to the bathhouse, bought them cotton clothes, and cared for them so much?

Xiao Jiang also turned around and lay on the cart floor, staring at the driver.

Ye Yunting’s gaze fell on the deep blue bundle on the old man’s seat.

“This is it. Take it,” the old man said, tossing the bundle to the back. The weight of it made Ye Shuangxue’s heart pound. She hugged it to her chest and couldn’t wait to open it. Inside were two sets of padded clothes for Ye Yunting. Ye Tian had already guessed that Ye Yunting wouldn’t wear them, so he had packed them in advance.

“Brother, these are your clothes.”

Ye Shuangxue kept looking through the bundle and found a brightly colored, exquisitely made dress. The fabric was smooth, and it even had an embroidery of Chang’e flying to the moon.

“Plop!”

A tear fell directly onto Xiao Jiang’s hand. Looking up, he saw his sister staring at the dress in her hands. She pursed her lips as tears streamed down, one after another.

Ye Tian had clearly said that buying this dress would mean they wouldn’t have money for food.

He knew it too—he had deliberately made things difficult for them. So why did she still buy it?

That damned Ye Tian!

Ye Shuangxue hugged the dress, sobbing continuously. Her hands continued to rummage through the bundle. There were steamed buns, baozi, and flatbreads. A small pouch held copper coins, and in Ye Yunting’s clothes was a piece of silver.

The three siblings were all stunned, none of them speaking.

Ye Yunting quickly tied up the bundle. Xiao Jiang frowned, looking at his older brother. “This is all his money. If his kindness to us were just for a coin, the money he spent on us these past few days would have been more than a single string.”

“He really has changed…”

“He takes care of us, he makes us happy. He’s not like other fathers—he’s more like my friend. I like the Ye Tian we have now.”

The three children remained silent.

The ox cart wheels creaked as they pressed through the snow: “Creak, creak…”

…

The sky grew dark.

Ye Tian came back in from outside, hunching his shoulders. He shook the snow off his padded jacket and finally pushed open the yard gate.

The house was cold and silent.

He lifted the tattered curtain on the main door. Inside, there was no fire, only darkness. A hollow feeling filled Ye Tian’s chest. He rubbed his hands together, squatted on the floor, and struck a flint to light a fire, muttering angrily, “These three heartless brats—one word, and they really left.”

“I can’t even light a fire. What a useless old father, can’t even take care of himself.”

“Ugh!”

Ye Tian sighed. The flint sparked and ignited some dry straw, but the thick smoke made his eyes water. He squinted and bent over, coughing violently: “Cough, cough, cough!”

The air from his mouth blew out the tiny flame.

Staring at the black smoke, Ye Tian was speechless. A lone man—was this really going to be his life from now on?

Just as he was feeling down, a faint light suddenly appeared behind him, casting a dim glow into every corner of the old house. Ye Tian, lying on the ground, looked up and saw a pair of small red feet in front of him.

A familiar little lion.

Shoes soaked through.

It was Ye Shuangxue!

Ye Tian’s heart warmed, and his eyes instantly grew moist.

“You’re really dumb. If I hadn’t come, you wouldn’t starve to death—but you’d freeze to death.”

His daughter’s voice rang from above.

Ye Tian adjusted his emotions, wiped away his tears, and finally got up. Ye Shuangxue was gasping heavily, her little face red from the cold. She had the deep blue bundle tied to her back, her bright eyes looking at Ye Tian.

Ye Tian cried and laughed at the same time. Without a word, he scooped his daughter into his arms.

Ye Shuangxue shivered.

She froze in mid-air, raising her hands, staring at Ye Tian’s head buried against her. Mimicking adults, she gently patted his head and said, “As long as you don’t sell me, I won’t go anywhere. I’ll cook for you my whole life.”

“Father was wrong!”