TNIBFT -Chapter 5 Princess, Please Sit

Ye Tian’s cold, stern voice startled Zhang Fan into instant silence. His crying stopped abruptly as he looked at Ye Tian in shock, then at Ye Yunting and his siblings.

Son?

Daughter?

Had Ye Tian gone mad today?

In the past, Ye Tian hated anyone bringing up the three siblings. He would call them bastards everywhere, hurling all kinds of insults without restraint. Since when did he care about these “little bastards”?

Seeing Zhang Fan not respond, Ye Tian raised his voice, “Did you hear me?”

“I heard, I heard…”

Zhang Fan shuddered, took one look at Ye Tian’s battered face, then turned and scrambled away in a panic.

“Brat needs a good beating,” Ye Tian muttered, shaking his head as he watched Zhang Fan run off. This time, helping the three siblings solve their problem had been perfectly timed—he should at least earn some favorability points, right?

Ye Tian felt quite pleased with himself.

Turning to the three children nearby, he saw them standing together, brows tightly furrowed, clearly deep in thought. Ye Tian shifted his feet and stepped closer, but the moment he did, all three instinctively stepped back, keeping their distance. Their guarded expressions felt like a bucket of cold water poured over his heart.

Things weren’t going to be as simple as he had imagined. After all, the original Ye Tian had abused them for years—those wounds couldn’t be healed in just a day or two.

Thinking this, Ye Tian bent down, picked up the dead fish from the snow, and waved it in his hand as he smiled at them. “Come on, Dad will cook for you.”

Ye Yunting turned his head away.

Ye Shuangxue puffed up her cheeks like an angry little bird.

Ye Hanjiang stared down at his toes.

Not one of them moved.

Ye Tian gave an awkward laugh, then carried the fish and walked into the courtyard.

“He… what’s wrong with him today?” Ye Shuangxue asked, staring at Ye Tian’s back in confusion. He had been far too abnormal today—first, he would rather get beaten than sell her, then he didn’t try to curry favor with Widow Zhang, and even helped them teach Zhang Fan a lesson. Most importantly, Ye Tian had actually acknowledged them as his children and said many strange things.

These unusual actions only made things more unsettling and frightening.

Ye Yunting shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“A leopard can’t change its spots. We need to be careful. Maybe this sudden change is just another trap.”

“Mm.”

The three siblings nodded in agreement, then followed Ye Yunting into the courtyard.

Even the thick layer of snow couldn’t hide the place’s dilapidated condition. Piles of wood and discarded junk were stacked all around like small hills, leaving only a tiny patch of space in the already cramped yard.

As soon as Ye Yunting stepped inside, he noticed that the old clothes they used to keep warm under the eaves were gone. His expression changed instantly, and he rushed toward the eaves, with Ye Shuangxue close behind.

“Brother…”

Before Ye Shuangxue could finish, Ye Yunting cut her off, “It must have been Ye Tian. He threw away all our winter clothes. You two go inside first—I’ll go look for them.”

In weather this cold, the three of them slept by the doorway. Without those tattered clothes, they wouldn’t survive the night.

“I shouldn’t have believed he’d change for the better. Ye Tian is such a bastard!”

Ye Shuangxue bit her pink lip, lowering her head. For a moment today, Ye Tian had stirred something in her heart—just a hint of hope—but now her resentment toward him only deepened. Deception and mockery hurt even more.

Ye Hanjiang lowered his head, tears falling silently. Sure enough, a good life had nothing to do with the three of them.

Father?

In this lifetime, they would never have that either.

“What are you doing outside? It’s cold—hurry and come in.”

Ye Tian’s voice came from inside the house. The three siblings exchanged glances, their eyes filled with resentment.

Such fake concern sounded almost laughable.

“Let’s go in first, or he’ll definitely get angry,” Ye Yunting said, frowning slightly. He glanced at the vast stretch of white snow outside the courtyard, his mind already racing as he tried to guess where Ye Tian might have thrown things.

Seeing their older brother go in, Ye Shuangxue and Ye Hanjiang followed closely behind.

Pop!

Pop!

The firewood inside was burning brightly, crackling from time to time.

The battered copper pot was filled halfway with water, steaming hot vapor rising into the air. Though the house was shabby, it was much warmer than outside. The three siblings stood uneasily near the pot.

“You all rest for a bit. Once I’m done, I’ll make fish soup for you…”

Ye Tian’s voice came again. Following the sound, Ye Yunting turned his head and saw Ye Tian squatting by a wooden basin, cleaning a dead fish. His pupils shrank in shock, his small face full of disbelief.

Ye Shuangxue also looked at her brother in astonishment.

Ye Hanjiang glanced between his siblings, equally confused. A man who never cooked and was lazy by nature was now personally handling a smelly dead fish—what kind of shock had Ye Tian suffered today?

“Too bad we don’t have any seasonings at home. Otherwise, there’d be so many ways to cook this fish—spicy fish, boiled fish, pickled cabbage fish, tofu fish soup…”

Ye Tian muttered to himself, swallowing his saliva as he spoke. In his previous life, he hadn’t been rich, but these ordinary dishes were always within reach.

But after transmigrating to this godforsaken place, let alone enjoying good food and drink—even surviving was a struggle.

The three siblings exchanged silent glances.

Blinking her big eyes, Ye Shuangxue whispered to Ye Yunting, “What are spicy fish and pickled cabbage fish?”

“Are they tasty?”

Ye Yunting shot a disdainful look at Ye Tian’s back. “He probably made them up—just showing off in front of us. Who knows what he’s planning.”

Ye Shuangxue frowned and nodded.

That made sense. With Ye Tian’s character, if it weren’t for the three of them begging for food, he would have starved to death long ago. Forget delicacies—he would even finish off their leftover scraps without leaving a single bite. Someone like him—what kind of delicacies could he have ever eaten?

“Big brother…”

Ye Hanjiang’s voice trembled as he spoke softly.

Ye Yunting looked at him and followed his gaze. On the wooden table near the fire, their tattered, dirty clothes were spread out on a rack, giving off faint wisps of steam. The firelight reflected red on Ye Yunting’s face as anger surged in his eyes, and he stepped forward.

This damn Ye Tian—even their only winter clothes, he wanted to take them away? He wasn’t leaving them any way to survive. This beast.

What exactly was he trying to do?

Ye Yunting clenched his fists, unable to calm himself.

“I saw those clothes were a bit damp outside, so I brought them in to dry by the fire. That way, you’ll be warmer when you sleep tonight.”

Ye Tian’s voice suddenly rang out, like a bucket of cold water dousing the flames in Ye Yunting’s heart. His tightly clenched fists loosened slightly, and he awkwardly averted his gaze from the clothes.

Tilting her head, Ye Shuangxue looked at Ye Tian. She was starting to suspect he might be an impostor.

Ye Hanjiang lowered his head, his expression unreadable.

Without drawing attention, Ye Tian took in all three children’s reactions, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips. The three future fearsome villains in the book… were nothing more than this.

His confidence instantly surged, even becoming a little overinflated. After placing the cleaned fish into the copper pot, he turned to Ye Shuangxue with a flattering smile and said: “Princess, please sit.”