1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 424 Hiss. Is it haunted?
"Why would I be angry?" Astrid asked with a dangerous smile.

Ronan tried hard not to look into those intensely intimidating eyes and replied in a low voice:
"Some minor changes have occurred, and I should have informed you immediately."

Astrid took off her gloves, touched the slender pink wine bottle in front of her, and asked with a smile:
Are we that close?

Ronan thought to himself, "Oh no!"

This woman is really angry!
He said ingratiatingly:
"Have you finished your tour? My restaurant isn't far from here, let me treat you to a few drinks."

If Astrid can influence the amount of funding the tourism board allocates to Lourmaran, she can certainly influence other things as well.

Ines made it very clear that Astrid had the ability to change the status quo of rosé wine in Provence.
She was probably the highest-ranking person Ronan encountered in Provence.

If this misunderstanding is not cleared up, we will lose a very powerful backer in the future.

"No." Astrid withdrew her fingers, adjusted her hat, and looked coldly ahead. "I'm leaving."

Cornell was captivated by those slender, fair fingers and joined Ronan in trying to persuade him to stay.
"It's quite hot outside now, you can rest for a while before going back."

Astrid suddenly glared at Cornell and questioned him coldly:
Is this the guided tour area?

Ronan awkwardly touched his forehead a few times.

Poor Cornell. Why do you always take the initiative when you should, instead of taking the initiative with the wrong people and at the wrong times?

Astrid's piercing gaze finally 'awakened' Cornell.

What beautiful fingers, what a lovely lady, what a captivating charm. Cornell's face flushed even more.

He then left the area shyly.
"Oh, right, I have work to do, I'll be going now."

Seeing that Astrid was indeed heading towards the exit, Ronan silently followed behind:
"Then I'll take you there."

Astrid did not turn around and walked straight ahead:

“Don’t waste time.”

Ronan maintained a safe distance, but he was certain his voice would be audible to the woman in front of him.

"Actually, it's like this, I don't know who booked Stellaris either—"

“I’m not angry.” Astrid suddenly stopped and looked behind her. “You used Ines to make a name for yourself, and you used Juliet to acquire resources. Now you’re using me too. I taught you how to leverage power and profit. What reason do I have to be angry?”

She gave another strange, enigmatic smile:
I should praise you for doing a great job.

Ronan couldn't discern Astrid's true emotions, and she didn't want to give him a chance to explain. At this moment, all he could do was earnestly assure her:
"I swear I will make Stellar even better and bring rosé to more places."

Astrid forbade Ronan from following, so Ronan obediently left.

This woman's personality is not something that can be improved by 'persistence'; insisting on following her will only backfire.

"Sigh, I can only try to repair the relationship slowly when the opportunity arises," Ronan thought to himself.

On his way back to the restaurant, Ronan encountered Sylvie and Juliet, as well as a few farmers trying to curry favor with Juliet.

Like Pierre, the farmers of Lourmarin also hoped to get acquainted with this official from the Ministry of Agriculture. Every time Juliet left the government building, she would be followed by several 'accomplices'.

Those pendants are often ignored.

However, Ronan also heard from the villagers that Juliet didn't seem very enthusiastic about the officials in Lourmaran, except for Blanco.

Several officials went home and complained to their families that this important figure in the Ministry of Agriculture of Vaucluse was particularly difficult to talk to.

Ronan, standing twenty meters away from the group opposite him, heard the farmers' awkward jokes, only to be met with an even more embarrassed Sylvie.

Upon seeing Ronan, Sylvie finally grasped at a 'lifeline' and enthusiastically asked:

"You went to the museum?"

She watched Ronan walk down the museum steps.

Ronan nodded:

"Yes, a friend came."

Juliet remained the same, nodding to Ronan in front of outsiders as a greeting.

However, just as the two passed each other, Ronan suddenly called out to Juliet:

"Do you have time? I have something I'd like to talk to you about."

Juliet thought for only a second before following Ronan to the shade of a tree not far away.

Sylvie stood on the main road, looking enviously in the direction of Ronan and Juliet:

"It has to be Ronan. He comes as soon as you call him."

Juliet wasn't usually like this with her.

Several farmers nearby said smugly:
"Of course, that's Ronan, the most powerful man in Lourmaran!"

Like Pierre, Ronan always kept these brothers in his heart. Ronan's ability to maintain good relations with the Ministry of Agriculture was equivalent to all the farmers in Lourmarin maintaining good relations with the Ministry of Agriculture.

Sylvie leaned forward slightly and squinted, as if trying to see something clearly.

She muttered under her breath:
"Why does the most powerful man in Lourmaran have that expression?"

"Help me, please help me, Astrid is angry!" Ronan pleaded with Juliet. "I forgot to tell her that I have Stellagard."

Juliet crossed her arms, looking serious and lecturing:
"You didn't tell Ines or Astrid? How could you forget something so important?"

Ronan said regretfully:

"Ines hasn't organized any gatherings lately, so I'll wait until the next one to talk about it."

Juliet sighed deeply:

"How was it discovered?"

But to solve the problem, you need to first understand how the problem arose.

Ronan pointed to the rosé wine museum behind him and said:

"Astrid came here for a visit, just now."

Juliet turned around abruptly, looking tense.
"Astrid came to Lourmaran? How many people were with her? Was she accompanied by anyone else?"

Ronan shook his head:

"She was alone, but she just left. Judging by the time, she's probably already at the parking lot."

Juliet's eyes widened further, and she asked Ronan in a tone that seemed to say, "Are you crazy?"
"She was all alone, and you didn't even see her off?"

Ronan innocently said:

"She won't let me deliver it."

"Are you stupid? How could you miss such a good opportunity?" Juliet clattered along in her nearly 10-centimeter heels. "Which parking lot did she go to?"

In the distance, Sylvie and the farmers looked even more surprised than Juliet.

what's the situation?
What did Ronan say to that official from the Ministry of Agriculture?

Why is she so nervous?
Ronan didn't know where Astrid had parked the car, so Juliet naturally went looking for it. When she returned disappointed, Ronan was still waiting for her in the same spot.
"Didn't you find her sports car?"

If you can't find the person, you need to find the car. Astrid always drives the same car to parties.

Juliet, disregarding her status, gasped for breath:
“Gatherings are personal events, but coming to a museum is different. Maybe she had a driver to take her today, but I couldn’t find her.”

Ronan considered himself to be familiar enough with Juliet that he could share some 'secrets' with her.

He moved closer and asked Juliet in a low voice:

"You know Astrid's identity, don't you?"

Ronan always felt that Astrid's identity was not just that of a descendant of the Fox family; she must have a more explosive hidden identity!
Juliet glared at Ronan fiercely:
"Don't even think about getting a single letter out of me. That's not something you should know. Just remember, Astrid is the kind of person that you and I could never reach in our entire lives."

Ronan sighed silently.

Since she's so amazing, we absolutely can't afford to have any 'misunderstandings' with her.

"What should I do?" Ronan stroked his chin, lost in thought.

Luo Nan has been able to resume setting up his stall for about two weeks now.

Every Friday and Saturday he would go to the markets in Mena village and Lourmaran, and do all the preparations on his own beforehand, just like countless days last year.

On Thursday, as usual, he went to Freddy's slaughterhouse early in the morning to buy a batch of premium pork, which he then took home to prepare for his stall the next day.

But after he got home and parked the car, he found his 'omnipotent' mother hiding behind Luo Tianhai like a frightened little girl, looking around in terror.

"Didn't you go to a restaurant?" Ronan asked his parents as he got out of the car.

Although the parents' time and energy were freed up from the restaurant.

But on days without special circumstances, they would still go to the restaurant early in the morning.

But it's long past their usual departure time.

Luo Tianhai shielded Feng Zhen behind him, also looking around with his head held high:

“Your mom said the owl hooted all night, and she couldn’t sleep at all.”

Thinking of something, Luo Tianhai turned to his son Luo Nan and asked:

Did you hear an owl hooting yesterday?

In winter, Zoe said that the magpies, which are most common in Provence, did not appear near Ronan's house because an owl lived within a 200-meter radius of his house.

Owls are the natural enemies of magpies, so there are naturally no magpies here.

At first, Ronan didn't believe Zoe's judgment, but one night he did hear an owl hooting very close by, which proved that Zoe's judgment was correct.

However, Ronan slept very well, falling asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, and he never heard the owl's call again.

"No, I haven't heard it in a long time," Ronan said truthfully.

Luo Tianhai turned to his wife and said:
“My son didn’t hear it, and neither did I. Are you sure you heard correctly? If he really called out by the window all night, we would definitely have been woken up.”

"How could you hear that when you're sleeping like a log?" Feng Zhen slapped Luo Tianhai hard and said hysterically, "I don't know if it was an owl, but that hooting sounded like a woman crying, crying so terribly, her voice was hoarse and she was still crying. If that wasn't an owl, I, I, I must have an owl! You have to find it for me today! And kick it out!!"

Luo Tianhai said to Luo Nan with difficulty:

"Hurry up and go inside to get ready. Finish this quickly so we can catch an owl for your mom."

Ronan was very skilled at preparing things for his stall and quickly completed the preliminary work, while Luo Tianhai searched for owls in the yard.

But things didn't go as planned. The father and son searched around the house several times, even going into the dense woods opposite the vineyard, but still couldn't find a single owl.

The more they couldn't find it, the more frightened Feng Zhen became. She was already packing her things and moving to the second floor of the restaurant where the furniture hadn't been delivered yet.

"I'll get a few more people to help," Ronan said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

Ronan was the most womanizing man in Provence!

We must resolve this issue in my mother's mind!

Luo Tianhai shook his head with a bitter face:
"No, no, no, that's too embarrassing. Your mom's talking nonsense will only scare people more. Let's stop searching after a while. I'll listen to the night to see if there's really a sound. Maybe it's just the wind."

“Okay, I’ll listen to it tonight too.” Ronan looked back towards the backyard. “But I can ask Zoe at the same time.”

Zoe loves birds, enjoys observing them, and is very knowledgeable about birds.

Ronan decided to consult her to see if it really was an owl.

After listening to Ronan's description, Zoe professionally said:

“Owls are nocturnal animals. During the day, they only rest in dimly lit, inconspicuous places, such as old tree hollows and the hidden places of thick-leaved trees. It's too difficult for you to find it during the day, but—”

After a brief pause, Zoe frowned and said uncertainly:

"Different species of owls have different habits, but their mating season is over now, so they shouldn't be calling at night."

"Isn't it an owl?" Ronan found the problem even more troublesome. "Then what other bird could live near people's homes?"

Zoe shook her head:

“There are so many birds living near people’s homes, but none of them make a sound like the ‘woman’s cry’ that Auntie described, especially crying all night long. It’s so unusual. I can’t imagine what it could be.”

Ronan frowned in distress.

Not a bird?
What exactly was that sound?
People living in Luberon don't have a nightlife; they prepare to rest around 8 p.m.

However, since Ronan's family are Parisians, they go to bed relatively late, usually around 10 pm.

But today, Feng Zhen and Luo Tianhai went to bed before 8:30.

Feng Zhen was afraid.

She wanted to fall asleep quickly in case that thing came again during the night.
You can't hear it when you're asleep!
She was afraid to sleep alone, so Luo Tianhai naturally had to protect her.

Ronan then took on the important task of capturing the fugitive.

He brought over some vines and kept a close eye on his surroundings while making furniture.

At his feet were tools such as a flashlight, rope, fishing net, wooden stick, machete, and chainsaw, as well as various pendants that Feng Zhen had previously obtained for him, the main idea being that no matter who came, he could win them over.

Everything was calm and peaceful before 10 o'clock.

Ronan was so busy making furniture that he fell asleep.

But just after 10 o'clock, several distinct flapping sounds of wings suddenly appeared outside, and the direction they came from was directly above the house.

Ronan, holding a flashlight in one hand and a wooden stick in the other, was about to go out and arrest the suspect.

But then a series of heart-wrenching "wailing" sounds suddenly pierced Ronan's ears.

He paused, looked down, and grabbed the pendant.

Hiss. It really does sound like a woman crying.

(End of this chapter)