1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 309 New Year, New Look!
There were so many people to take care of that night. By the time Luo Nan was finally able to sit down and enjoy the New Year with his parents, Luo Tianhai had already drunk quite a bit.

There was nothing he could do; as Ronan's father, he was constantly being toasted by people.

Unlike Ronan, who only drinks one type of rosé wine, he also had a little white wine and a little red wine. His speech was already a bit slurred.

However, this did not affect his communication at all.

The more he struggled to speak, the more he wanted to speak, and the more forcefully he spoke.

This year was also the happiest Spring Festival Luo Tianhai has ever had!
Sitting at the 'family' table were the Louis family, the Freddie family, the Alain family, and old Carl and his wife. They were not only Ronan's 'old' friends, but also among the people who were closest to Luo Tianhai.

“Last Chinese New Year, it was just me and Ronan’s mother in Paris. At that time, we joked that the little rascal might come back for Easter. How could he possibly settle down in Provence by himself? But I never expected—” Luo Tianhai looked at his son Ronan, “I never expected that his mother and I would spend Easter in Provence. And a few months later, not only did Ronan settle down in Provence, but we also started a new life here.”

Luo Tianhai raised his glass with happiness and excitement:

"In those first few months, it was all thanks to everyone who took care of Ronan. Those of you here today deserve my respect!"

Louis had drunk quite a bit today, and his face was as red as the Englishmen he hated most.

"We'll be family soon, why are you being so polite?"

Freddie barged in:

"That's right, we're all one family."

Louis muttered in dissatisfaction:
"Who's family with you? This is a matter between our two families!"

Freddie habitually bickers with Louis:
“You’re too narrow-minded, Louis! The Ronan family is now part of the Lourmaran family, how can they not be my family!”

Old Karl smiled and nodded:

"That's right, we are all one family."

These guys have been bickering and fighting for decades; when they start arguing, they could practically lift the roof beams off the house.

Taking advantage of the chaos at the scene, Ronan suppressed a laugh, exchanged a glance with his mother, and whispered:
"Where did my dad learn so many polite phrases? How many rounds of 'thank you' has this already?"

Every time he came back, he could hear Luo Tianhai thanking these people.
It's not that it's impossible, and you should indeed be grateful, but you could come up with a different reason.

Feng Zhen pouted at her son, shook her head, and then rolled her eyes at her husband.

"That's enough with the repetitive remarks. Is there anything else you want to thank me for?"

Luo Tianhai looked at his wife and son with a simple and honest expression.
"You guys are good at talking, you're all better at talking than me. So tell me, shouldn't we take care of our friends during the holidays?"

After things quieted down a bit, Feng Zhen tapped her glass on the table and downed the rosé in one swift motion.
"The message was all in the drink: from now on, not a single person can be missing from this table during Chinese New Year; they all have to come!"

Ronan couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

It has to be you, Ms. Feng Zhen!

Seeing that his parents had spoken, Ronan also raised his glass:
“I didn’t really feel anything about the Spring Festival before. First of all, it was just the three of us every year, and secondly, there was no festive atmosphere in Paris. It just felt like an ordinary day, so I didn’t celebrate it at all last year. But this year, I had an exceptionally happy and joyful Spring Festival. My mom was right, from now on, you all have to come for the Spring Festival. Not one of you can be missing.”

Ronan moved to Provence last January.

He completely forgot about the Spring Festival, especially since there was no telephone installed at home during that period, and Feng Zhen couldn't contact him even if she wanted to.

But then he thought of this and stood up behind his parents, hugging them both, one in each arm:

"I'm sorry I couldn't be with you for the holiday last year. From now on, I will be by your side every Spring Festival and I will never leave again."

Luo Tianhai patted Luo Nan's arm back, but didn't turn around. He just drank another glass of wine.

Feng Zhen excitedly hugged Luo Nan's neck and whispered in his ear:
“Your father is bad with words, so I'll speak for him.”

"Moving to Provence was the best decision we've ever made. We've seen firsthand how excellent, ambitious, and hardworking you are. Just keep striving for your goals, and your father and I will take good care of the family. We are so proud of you, son!"

Ronan hugged them both even tighter, everything was understood without words.

[Affirmation from others increases happiness by 45 points]

Old Karl is getting old and can't stay up too late.

Once it was past 10 o'clock, he apologized and said he had to go home first.

Ronan didn't try to stop him; he just smiled and said:
"Watch the last show before you leave."

Freddie's eyes lit up instantly as he looked towards where the artists were, asking expectantly:
"Is the show not over yet?"

There were a few artists among them who sang really well; Freddie couldn't get enough of them.

Ronan smiled and shook his head, then waved to Henry at the next table:

"Henry, let's begin."

Henry immediately put on his hat and left the restaurant.

Then Ronan stood on his chair and shouted:
"Friends! Hold on a minute, let's go outside and watch the fireworks!!"

Before the outdoor fireworks were even lit, the indoor 'fireworks' began to bloom first.

The screams of children, the gasps of women, the laughter of men, the cheers of artists, and the barking of dogs all occurred simultaneously.

This was not only Ronan's most memorable Spring Festival, but it also left a deep impression on the guests who came today.

They will never forget this happy, lively, and meaningful Chinese festival!
"When did you buy the fireworks? Why didn't you tell me?" Zoe asked, looking up.

The temperature was around 0 degrees Celsius at night. While waiting for Henry to set off fireworks, Ronan hugged Zoe.

However, this affectionate gesture did not dispel Zoe's dissatisfaction.

The gifts she gave everyone today were prepared by her and Vieri with Ronan's help, most of which the siblings bought themselves. But she didn't know that Ronan had also asked Henry to prepare fireworks.

She pretended to be angry and tapped Ronan's nose twice.

Why do you keep this from everyone?

Ronan rested his chin on Zoe's head, wrapped his arms around her, and said with a smile:
"Of course it's to surprise you, Vieri, I didn't hide it from you."

Vieri, standing next to them, couldn't stand the atmosphere and took two steps to the right:
"You've started again."

"Look, look! Fireworks!!" Isabelle suddenly grabbed Vieri's arm and shook it excitedly a few times.

Brilliant fireworks reflected beautiful colors on her face.

Vieri looked at Isabel's face for a moment, then looked up as well. He did not shake off the hand on his arm.

Ronan shifted his gaze from the two young men and jokingly said to the person in his arms:
"We need to hurry, we can't let Vieri 'overtake us on a curve'."

Zoe didn't notice her brother's strange behavior at all, nor did she hear what Ronan said.

She jumped up excitedly, pointed to the top of her head, and said to Ronan like a child:
"Beautiful! So beautiful, just as beautiful as the Thanksgiving Ceremony! I love fireworks!"

Ronan happily pressed his face against Zoe's fragrant hair.

He knew, of course, that Zoe liked fireworks.
This fireworks display was prepared for Zoe.

"Thank you for your company this past year. I hope we can watch the fireworks together every Chinese New Year from now on. Happy New Year!" Ronan said cheerfully in Zoe's ear.

He thanked so many people today, so naturally he had to thank Zoe as well.

Zoe probably helped him the most this year—she gave Ronan a real 'home' in his heart.

Zoe turned around and looked intently into Ronan's eyes, her gaze softening.

"I should be thanking you. Thank you for letting me make so many friends, thank you for creating such a great working atmosphere for me, thank you for helping me realize my dreams, thank you for always stepping forward when I encounter difficulties, thank you for your silent dedication, and thank you for loving me unconditionally. I love you, Ronan."

[Affirmation from others increases happiness by 50 points]

Amidst the deafening screams and fireworks, Ronan confidently believed he was the happiest man in the world.

That's right, the happiest one!
The Spring Festival symbolizes bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new, and everything is a new beginning.

Although he was already happy enough in 1986, Ronan firmly believed that he would be even happier in 1987.

Not only him, but also his family, loved ones and friends will surely be happier!
Suddenly, Zoe stood on tiptoe and bravely kissed Ronan in the crowd, eliciting even more screams from those around her.

[Happiness increases by 50 points when having intimate contact with someone of the opposite sex]

Ronan's eyes suddenly widened.

The score for "Happiness" has not only returned to the level before the cold wave, but it has also been increased.
Previously, the highest score for "Intimate Contact" was 35.

This really is a 'new year, new look'!

The day after the Spring Festival.

Gold.

An art center somewhere.

“Marichar, are you still not replying to Mr. Normand today? I mean, why not just tell him that you rejected his offer?”

Two men dressed in designer clothes sat facing each other at a table in front of them, which was covered with a lot of text and photographs.

The man named Marechal shook his head and said:

“Simmons, we’re already swamped. Andy Goldsworth is a sculptor. Do you know how many people will be paying attention to our central sculpture exhibition this time? I suggest you come with me and quickly get all the information about these works. The face of the Provençal art world is more important.”

Simmons rubbed his eyes and picked up another photo:
“But we also have to give Mr. Normand face. He’s Normand, not just anyone.”

Mareczer looked up from the documents in his hand and shrugged:
"Yes, we need to give Normand face, so we can't refuse him. We can only drag it out until the exhibition starts, and then make up an excuse to get by. Um, how about we say we've been so busy lately that we haven't even had time to eat? That's really true."

Simmons sighed and continued to express his opinion:

“But I think we should give that new artist named Ronan a chance. Just looking at his work won’t waste much time, although fame is important. But you should know that his work is quite creative.”

Marechal continued looking at the documents in his hand and said perfunctorily:

“Oh, that is indeed a good piece of work, have you forgotten? We went to see it together three days ago, but so what? It has nothing to do with sculpture! I could read the descriptions of 10 works and come up with 20 recommendations in the time it would have spent dealing with that artist. I think that’s more important.”

“No, no, no, it’s not just ‘not bad’.” Simmons pointed in a direction and said, “‘Hope’ was Gold’s most popular work in January. Because of it, more than 10,000 people went to Rodrigo’s exhibition every day. More than 10,000 people, you should know that. Apart from ‘Hope’, everything else in that exhibition was garbage.”

"More than 10,000 people go to see Rodrigo's garbage every day?" Marecchall was completely unsettled, frowning as he asked, "Are you kidding me?!"

Simmons raised one hand:

"Absolutely not, but they're not going to see 'garbage,' they're going to see 'hope.'"

Mareczer's expression worsened:

"So many people go to see the dessert that keeps collapsing?"

Simmons tapped the table and said with utmost seriousness:

"You absolutely cannot imagine that after that dessert rotted, something new appeared inside. It truly brings a new surprise every day. Mr. Normand described it as a true work of art, and that's no exaggeration at all!"

(End of this chapter)