1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 318 The Gears of Fate Begin to Turn

Seeing that Ronan had stopped and was staring straight at her, Zoe waved her hand in front of his eyes twice:
Why have you been spacing out all day? What are you thinking about?

Ronan grabbed the hand in front of him, looked into Zoe's smiling eyes, and said:
"Why isn't spring here yet?"

Zoe's smiling face suddenly fell:

"Let's get through winter smoothly first."

Seeing that Zoe was anxious about the upcoming Gold Art event, Ronan quickly steered the conversation to something she was more interested in:

Did you often observe birds when you were a child?

Zoe's tone became a little more cheerful:

"Yes, birds are the most common animals in the village. Different birds appear here in all four seasons. I watch how they fly, how they hunt, and how they court. In fact, I can only imitate birds well because I've seen them the most."

Ronan said in a praising tone:
"That's why all your works are so lifelike."

Zoe's works all revolve around animals, with birds being one of her favorite animals to depict, and probably the one she does the most.

“Although I really don’t like using this kind of language—” Zoe proudly raised her chin, “I am definitely a bird expert.”

After the topic of magpies came up, Zoe's behavior became adorable and playful.

Ronan believes that only someone who truly loves animals can create so many excellent works based on them.

People who love animals are kind-hearted. Ronan was happy and joyful to have met such a kind girl.

Ronan's thoughtful expression led Zoe to mistakenly believe that he did not believe in Ronan's status as a 'bird expert'.

Her tone suddenly turned serious:

"Actually, I've wanted to tell you this for a long time."

Ronan's thoughts were pulled back:
"say what?"

Zoe tapped Ronan's chest twice with her index finger:

"At least one owl lives within 200 meters of your home."

Ronan's eyes widened suddenly:

"Have you seen it?"

Ronan had lived in that house for over a year and had never seen an owl in the vicinity.

Zoe pointed to her head and said in an expert's tone:

"No need to look, it's the keen sense of a 'bird expert' that tells me I've never seen a magpie near your house, and the only reason that prevents these arrogant birds from swaggering around is that they don't want to enter the owl's territory."

Zoe snorted and turned to continue walking forward.
"If you don't believe me, listen carefully at night and see if you hear any owls calling. It's their mating season now."

Ronan does not have a habit of insomnia.

Upon arriving in Provence, my happiness level soared, and my sleep quality improved significantly.

Not only do I not suffer from insomnia, but I also rarely wake up at night.

However, to verify whether there was another resident near his home, Ronan did not go to sleep immediately after lying down that night, but instead turned on the desk lamp and read for a while.

However, he didn't read a single word of the book; all he could think about was Zoe.

I think about their first meeting, the things that happened when they set up a stall together, the summer when they went out for a night stroll every day, their trip to Apt, and every little detail about them.

If this were the 21st century, with mobile phones, Ronan would have to send Zoe a text message saying, "I miss you."

He then became even more determined to help Zoe achieve success in the upcoming Gold Art event.

He had enough confidence in Zoe's abilities, but what was wrong with adding fuel to the fire?
People's minds are more active at night.

After thinking for a while, Ronan gradually found a possibility and direction.

Zoe loves birds so much, and she's so good at imitating them. One of her works at this event was a bird. Otherwise, she might have sculpted a bird this time too.

Following in Zoe's footsteps?
If that's the case, you can write in the work's introduction—

"Uuuuuu——"

A series of 'whooshing' trembling sounds appeared from afar, gradually approaching, with the last few sounds seemingly coming from just a few meters away from the glass.

Ronan, his train of thought interrupted, rolled over and complained somewhat irritably:
"It's only been a few months, how come there are so many things in heat?"

Every time Luo Nan went into the mountains, Luo Tianhai would get up early to make him something hot to eat.

Ronan would stay in the mountains for a whole day, and his parents felt that their son was working too hard.

Not only Luo Tianhai got up today, but Feng Zhen also got up.

After breakfast, Luo Tianhai washed the dishes inside the house, while Feng Zhen saw her son off at the door.

"Drive slowly on the road, and be careful when you get to the mountains."

Instead of driving, Ronan looked up and glanced at the area above and to the sides.

"What are you looking at?" Feng Zhen also came out and looked at it with him.

Ronan said in a calm tone:

"See where your neighbors live."

It wasn't fully light yet, and Feng Zhen felt a chill run down her spine. She punched Ronan hard in the back.
"Are you crazy? We're the only family around here for hundreds of meters. We don't have any neighbors. Let me tell you, stop learning those pranks from Pierre. They're not fun at all!"

Ronan pointed to a window and said:

“There might be an owl living near our house. It should have been there last night; I heard it calling.”

Feng Zhen had only felt a tingling sensation on her scalp a moment ago, but now her whole body was numb.

Ronan was referring to the window of his and Luo Tianhai's bedroom!

She didn't even have time to say goodbye before she hurriedly closed the door, afraid that her neighbors would come over and visit.

Ronan, standing outside the door, heard a series of screams moving from near to far:

"Luo Tianhai! Luo Tianhai! We have an owl in our house! Oh my god, it's so scary! I'm terrified of owls!!"

Ronan shrugged and turned to get in the car.
"The 'bird expert' got into trouble."

Ronan spent two days collecting truffles in the mountains, and on the morning of the third day, he went to the second floor of the restaurant to see the experimental results.

Of the dozen or so samples tested, two were actually successful—no mold spots appeared, and the texture remained unchanged; it was just unknown how long they would last. However, Ronan had no other options for the time being.
After that, Ronan immediately threw himself into his writing.

The research and experiments have already taken four days, and he doesn't have much time left.

During his two days collecting truffles in the mountains, Ronan had already planned the theme and direction of this work—it would be a very complex sculpture.

The complexity of a work means it takes longer to complete, and it also means that mistakes cannot be made.

To improve efficiency, Ronan had Henry stand guard at the top of the stairs on the second floor.

He wouldn't see anyone except Zoe these next few days, but Zoe also went to Gold. Therefore, Ronan's orders to Henry were:
"Don't let anyone up here, not even my parents. I'll come down by myself when I'm hungry."

Henry saluted Ronan:

"Don't worry, Mr. Ronan, I guarantee not a single bug will fly in!"

Ronan had figured everything out, but he forgot one thing—he forgot to report the progress to Cotillard.

From the moment he received Mr. Normand's call, this man, who aspired to become a legendary art dealer in Provence, came to the restaurant every day to check on the progress.

Day 1 of research – Okay!
The experiment on the second day—though I didn't understand it, I respected it.

On the third day of our trip into the mountains—why did I suddenly stop creating?
Day four in the mountains—Ronan! I'm going to fight you to the death! Get back here and start creating right now!!
On the fifth day, Ronan finally started composing again, but Henry stubbornly prevented Cotillard from going upstairs.

Henry, that fellow, didn't understand any special circumstances or how to give way to women; he only knew that Mr. Ronan had said not to let anyone go up.

Cotillard gave Henry two middle fingers and stormed back to his art shop.

It wasn't that she wanted to pressure Ronan, but the people at the sculpture exhibition were calling her every day to ask about the progress. She was being driven crazy.

Sure enough, before noon, the phone rang again.

"Is Ronan's work finished?" The voice on the other end was that of a middle-aged man, who spoke very rudely and didn't even bother to greet him.

Cotillard, rubbing his forehead, said:
"Not yet, still in the creation process."

The man opposite almost roared out:
"Why haven't we done it yet? It's been five days! Do you even want to collaborate? Can he even produce a sculpture? Is he just starting to learn how to hold a carving knife?"

Cotillard, suppressing a torrent of profanities, humbly said:

"Sir, we agreed on a week, and you agreed to that. Could you please give us a little more time?"

The middle-aged man angrily hung up the phone.
"I need to reconsider whether I should give you this chance!!"

Gold.

Simmons, deflated like a punctured balloon, put down the microphone.

“Marichar, this tactic will only make them think I’m an impolite fool. It won’t work at all. They can’t produce their work in advance. No matter how much pressure we put on them, it won’t work. Let’s wait a few more days.”

Mareczer, facing Simmons, looked even worse than Cotillard, who was dozens of kilometers away.

“But the publicity has already started, and I need to add Ronan’s name to it. We’ve decided to let him pass even if he brings us a piece of wood, but he should at least give me some wood. Right now, we have nothing, so I can’t use Ronan as a gimmick for the sculpture exhibition.”

A week ago, Marecchall thought he should look at Ronan's work first before deciding whether to collaborate with him.

But a few days ago, Andy Goldsworth's team arrived in Provence.

From the moment they started setting up the venue, they created a lot of buzz, forcing the Provence Arts Alliance to come up with other ideas.

As the curator of the most important central sculpture exhibition, Marecchall decided to include Ronan in the promotional plan to attract the attention of audiences and tourists.

Even today, "Hope" is still a hot topic of discussion, and collectors who arrived too late to see it are even willing to pay high prices for photos of "Hope".

If someone has a set of photos that 'hope' to capture different states over 7 days, the price will double.

The entire Goldshire community was lamenting that Ronan had no other projects to participate in, and releasing news of their collaboration with Ronan at this time for the sculpture exhibition would garner a lot of attention.

So Marecchal sent Simmons to pressure Cotillard to bring the artwork over quickly so that Ronan's name could be linked to the sculpture exhibition.

However, the other party remained completely unmoved.

Marechar tapped the table in frustration:
"Keep calling him tomorrow. The sooner we announce it officially, the more attention we'll get."

Because the middle-aged man on the phone said something so harsh that he might have to withdraw the opportunity to cooperate, Cotillard went to Ronan Restaurant again the next morning.

This is no longer just Ronan's problem.

Her reputation as a singer could also be affected!

This time, she directly engaged Henry in a fierce battle, displaying a "I'll die if you don't let me go up there" attitude.

Henry completely disregarded Cotillard's life or death, and retaliated with a "I'd rather die than let you go up there" attitude.

But their commotion alerted Ronan, who apologetically took Cotillard with him:

"Sorry, this project requires a lot of concentration, so I asked Henry to watch the door for me. I swear I'll get it done by tomorrow. By the way, have they called you again recently?"

Cotillard had a bellyful of grievances and anger that he wanted to vent on Ronan.

Do you know what that person has driven me to?

Do you know how rude he is?
Do you know that I am obsequious?

You know—

But after seeing what was on the table, Gotia felt no more resentment or anger.

She circled Ronan's unfinished artwork twice with a serious expression, uttered a single sentence, and left:
"I won't bother you tomorrow. You can have someone call me and focus on your work. Leave everything else to me."

Cotillard came downstairs, and Henry thought the woman was going to make fun of him, but to his surprise, she said:
"Keep a close watch on the door. Even if Zoe comes, don't put it up there. Don't distract Ronan."

Henry: "???"

Back to the art shop.

Cotillard immediately sat down next to the phone, applying black nail polish while waiting for it to make a sound.

At the same time, the wicked smile of Snow White's stepmother asking the magic mirror who was the fairest of them all appeared on her face.

At 11 a.m., the phone call came as expected.

Codia answered immediately, and before the rude man could launch an attack, she said aggressively:
"Fine, if you don't want to cooperate, then don't cooperate. We don't care. Let me tell you this: when Ronan gets his work to Gold tomorrow, all the exhibitions will give us special treatment. Who are you trying to scare with your loud voice every day? I've been putting up with you for so long!"

The moment Cotillard saw Ronan's work, she knew the gears of her destiny had begun to turn.

Ronan will surely be like a missile, smashing a hole in the Provençal art world!
(End of this chapter)