1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 347 A Perfect Match, A Truly Perfect Match!

Ronan and Zoe, as 'outsiders', were already experiencing such complicated feelings.

Louis, the "player" in the situation, felt even more conflicted.

While Louis was professionally discussing the houses and environment of Lourmarin with customers across the street who had housing needs, he kept an eye on Vieri's every move.

In just one hour, Vieri introduced himself to six or seven tables of customers, and Louis clearly heard Vieri say as he introduced himself as the best real estate agent in Lourmarin.

It's incredibly touching to be publicly affirmed by your own son, especially one with whom you don't have a good relationship.

Moreover, Louis is currently going through a difficult period in his career.

In his most difficult time, the person who reached out to help him was Vieri.
No, no, I can't think about it anymore.

Louis's emotions surged even more at the thought!
In fact, Vieri had started introducing Louis to customers who wanted to buy or rent houses in Lourmarin three days ago.

Louis didn't know how to thank his son, and Vieri was not a talkative man, so no one around noticed what was going on.

But not saying anything doesn't mean there's nothing to say.

Living under such intense emotional influence for so long, Louis could no longer hold back.

Today, he must have a good talk with his son to express his gratitude.

Around 5 p.m., tourists from other villages began to leave Lourmaran, as it would be difficult to find transportation to leave any later.

At this time, Vieri also needed to go home to do his homework.

After exchanging contact information with the last few customers, Louis walked over to Vieri and extended an invitation:

"Shall we go home together?"

Vieri shook his head:
“I’ll leave a little later today. Ronan’s father is going to train Isabel and the others on the new menu, and I plan to listen in before I go back.”

Louis's chance to be alone with Vieri was ruined, and he let out a somewhat disappointed "Oh".

Vieri misunderstood Louis's words as dissatisfaction with his late return home, and pointed to the kitchen, saying:
"I asked my mom for permission, but if you want me to go back to my studies sooner, I'll leave now."

Louis shook his head repeatedly:

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant. You're all grown up now, and you don't need our permission to make any decisions."

After saying that, Louis suddenly realized that it had only been a little over a month since Christmas, and his attitude toward Vieri had changed so much?
From scolding him for being "childish" even when he ate rosemary sorbet, to now encouraging him to bravely make his own decisions.
Louis began to regret that he had 'realized' it sooner.

Perhaps their father-son relationship wouldn't be so bad.

Perhaps Vieri would never have had this unforgettable 'adolescence'?

Vieri had many things to do in the restaurant; he was both a waiter and a cashier, and his figure could be seen in every corner of the restaurant.

Louis wanted to find an opportunity to 'have a heart-to-heart talk' with his son and to get closer to him, so he made various excuses to follow Vieri around the restaurant.

But everyone in Lourma knew that Louis had a peculiar tendency to get into trouble.

Watching him 'run around everywhere,' everyone from cashiers to waiters to kitchen staff was worried sick.

Everyone who meets him smiles and says:
“Louis, go sit down and rest. You don’t need any help here.”

Louis didn't react much, continuing with his usual activities, but Vieri couldn't help himself. He turned back, frowned, and said to his father, who was helping him clear the table:
"Dad, can you please stop following me?"

Louis was taken aback at first, then stubbornly replied:

"I didn't follow you. I just wanted to find something to do."

Louis has given up on the idea of ​​having Vieri work as a real estate agent.

God, how can this child have such poor communication skills!

Don't I want to lose face?
Vieri said in the innocent tone unique to a young boy:

“I know what you want to do and what you want to say, but that’s unnecessary.”

He looked directly into his father's eyes:

You don't need to thank me.

Despite his bluntness, Vieri possessed an extraordinary ability to observe.

But those words halved the courage Louis had finally mustered.

Vieri said casually as he worked briskly:
“Ronan helped me find something I liked to do before my high school exams. I think I really enjoy being a ‘customer solicitor.’ Introducing customers to you is also a form of customer solicitation. I’m just honing my skills.”

Despite being ruthlessly rejected and having his feelings exposed, Louis stubbornly continued to wipe the tables with Vieri, though he no longer dared to take the initiative.

"Ronan's advice is right; you should cultivate your own hobbies."

Zoe, watching from behind the counter, was getting increasingly anxious and kept muttering:
"Why are these two so stubborn?"

The cashier counter definitely had the best view in the restaurant. She witnessed the entire interaction between the father and son and almost wanted to rush over and shout at them:

"It would kill me to admit I care about and love the other person!!"

Ronan, who was also in the audience, comforted her:

"It's actually very difficult for men, especially fathers and sons, to open up to each other. Give them some time. Things are much better now than they were a few months ago. And what they say isn't important; what matters is what they do, right?"

Women aren't as rational as men; Zoe crossed her arms, her chest heaving violently.

Suddenly, she slapped the counter:
“I come here every day and sit for two hours. I want to see how long these two can hold out.”

Ronan shrugged helplessly.

However, he was also very curious.

When will this father and son be able to completely reconcile?

Louis once told Vieri that the days of making money solely through expertise and patience are over.

The arrival of a new era inevitably necessitates new changes.

With the Gold art events and the Lourmaran trio's promotion of Lourmaran in Gold, Lourmaran experienced a second wave of 'immigrant frenzy' as the Gold events drew to a close.

Now Louis doesn't need to go out and compete with his peers for customers. He can just stay in Ronan's restaurant and meet one potential customer after another. Sometimes he's so busy that he can't keep up with them.

Ronan would certainly welcome a large influx of artists to Lourmarin, as it would be entirely beneficial to him. A skilled and experienced real estate agent could help retain even more artists, making it the best choice for Louis both professionally and personally.

But Vieri's efforts alone were far from enough; he could only appear in the restaurant for one or two hours each day.

One day, Ronan called the waitresses over and told them that if any artists sought help or wanted to learn about Lourmarin, they should introduce Louis to them.

Ronan was taken aback by the waiters' reaction.

“We started doing this a few days ago!”

Ronan asked unexpectedly:

"Did Vieri tell you to do this?"

The girls looked at each other, then suddenly burst into laughter:

“Vieri, that 'silent guy,' he hardly ever talks to us. How could it be him? It was Isabel! Isabel made us do this!”

Ronan's expression became increasingly interesting.

During the few hours that Vieri was helping out, Zoe would always find a way to squeeze in time to observe his interactions with Louis from behind the restaurant's cashier.

That day, Ronan told her what he had heard from the waiters.

Zoe's expression was even more exaggerated than when she discovered Vieri introducing clients to her father:
"You mean, Isabelle likes Vieri?"

Ronan spread his hands out:

"I guess they like each other."

Zoe exclaimed "God!" several times in surprise.

Just then, Isabel happened to pass by the checkout counter, and Zoe called her down, saying gratefully:

"Thank you for your help to Vieri and to my father."

Isabel was stunned for several seconds before quickly running away:

"It has nothing to do with Vieri! Everyone in the village knows that Louis is the best real estate agent in Lourmarin, so of course they'll refer people to Louis when they ask about houses!"

After Isabel ran away, Zoe frowned and said:
"There are actually people as stubborn as my father and Vieri."

Ronan laughed and said to Zoe:

"Isn't she a better match for Vieri?"

The second wave of Lourmarin immigration directly pulled Louis out of the 'quagmire' that had plagued him for so long, giving him a more dazzling second spring.

Zoe told Ronan that Louis was busier than ever before, and one night he happily announced to his family that his income this month might be several times higher than before.

But Louis was by no means the biggest beneficiary of the second wave of Lourmarin immigration.

Villagers who have recently passed by the Lourmaran government building have been hearing loud laughter from men and women, occasionally mixed with screams.

Over time, the villagers started spreading rumors that someone in the government had gone mad!
That's right.

There are indeed some people in the government who have gone mad, and several of them at that.

They were all ecstatic!
(End of this chapter)