1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 467 Ronan's Rear Guard, Twin Swords Combined

A corner of the Golden Hall.

Today, the century-old dark gold piano did not attract much attention, because the people attending the banquet were not princes, and the piano had no use.

However, just as everyone was anxiously waiting for the princess to finish those strange topics and fantasizing that they would be the second lucky one, the person sitting near the piano saw a yellow-skinned face sit down in front of the piano and play a very unfamiliar melody.

At first, no one paid much attention to this place.

There were many singers and music enthusiasts present; this wasn't the first time someone had sat here and played the piano.

But usually they'd play for a while, have their fun, and then leave, as if nothing had happened.

However, after this person started playing, the number of people near the dark gold piano suddenly increased, because Princess Stephanie, who hadn't left her seat all night, had come over.

Surrounded by stars, Princess Stephanie felt as if some memory was gradually awakening within her.

He felt the melody the person was playing was very unfamiliar, yet strangely familiar.
But where have I heard of it?
What song is this?

"Never heard of it, really never heard of it. Did you write it yourself?"

"Ines, Ines, do you know what song this person is playing?"

“To be honest, even though I’ve heard songs from albums that only had 200 copies released ten years ago, I really don’t know what this song is,” Ines said with a smile.

Zoe's outstanding performance has elevated Ines's status on the field.

Several celebrities who were previously "too high up" to reach her have taken the initiative to greet her, suggesting that there may be a possibility of collaboration again.

One of them joked:

"You've lost your 'Southern France Know-It-All' title, and you're still laughing so happily?"

Ines laughed even more heartily.

The editor-in-chief felt that today was the happiest day of her year, no, she should say the past few years, a day she would remember for the rest of her life.

“Because this person was also brought by me,” she said with even greater pride.

That's right, the person playing the piano is Ronan.

Ines brought only two people with him to the dinner party.

Both of them made quite a commotion.

What does this mean?
This shows that Ines's eyes are discerning!

He can judge a person's character perfectly at a glance!

Tonight, not only will Zoe and Ronan's names be frequently mentioned in the skies over Monaco, but Ines and Michelin magazine's names will also be remembered.

A ridiculous thought suddenly popped into Ines's mind—would Michelin magazine's expansion out of Provence rely on these two children?
People's joys and sorrows are not the same.

Ines was excited and thrilled, while Zoe, standing beside Princess Stephanie, had only one emotion—shock.

Her eyes were wider than the light bulbs of the crystal chandelier above her head.

The person sitting at the piano playing was Ronan!
How can this be?

Those familiar with Ronan's family know that Ronan's mother, Feng Zhen, wanted to cultivate Ronan into an artistic person from a young age, but unfortunately, Ronan had no artistic talent in his childhood.

At countless gatherings, Feng Zhen would recount the same story from different perspectives, her voice filled with anguish:
“When Ronan was 7 years old, we sent him to learn the electronic keyboard. After three months, he couldn’t even finish the A section of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. The problem is that we, who accompanied him throughout the lesson, all learned it. His hands were like ten carrots, stiff and clumsy, and he couldn’t even bend them!”

But at this moment, those ten carrots, which were "stiff and clumsy and couldn't even bend," were actually able to play a melody?
This is simply a miracle!

"That's way too hard," Zoe muttered with mixed feelings. "Even harder than me."

Ronan, of course, had no idea what his fiancée was thinking or complaining about.

Because he was completely absorbed in the moment, keeping his eyes closed the entire time.

After playing for a while, he opened his eyes without noticing and saw so many people surrounding him. Startled, he quickly stood up.

"Good evening, Princess."

As soon as the melody stopped, Princess Stephanie immediately asked:
"What's the name of this song? Why does it feel so familiar?"

Ronan responded fluently:

"This song has no name."

"No name? How can you not have a name?" Princess Stephanie asked anxiously.

A woman's intuition told her that she must have heard this song before.

Ronan said apologetically:

"Because it's an episode from a Broadway play in the United States, it may have a name, but after so many years, we have no way of knowing it."

Princess Stephanie seemed to have thought of something and pressed for an answer:
"What's the name of this Broadway play?"

Ronan looked heartbroken.

"This Broadway play is called 'Father'."

The onlookers didn't understand why Ronan had that expression, but the next second they heard Princess Stephanie let out a scream of surprise:

"Father! Father? The song from Mother's first Broadway production, Father?"

Ronan nodded and affirmed:

"That's right, Princess, it's this play."

Princess Grace Kelly had a brief stint on Broadway before appearing on the big and small screens, though mostly in supporting roles. It was only after starring in television series and films that she gradually came into the public eye.

Even the princess's children may have overlooked this experience, but Ronan, who came after doing his homework, would not have missed it.

Like Zoe, he began making preparations when he learned that Ines was going to bring them to Monaco.

Just like he told Batty and Cafu, this kind of opportunity probably only comes once in a lifetime, how could they possibly leave empty-handed?
But Ronan and Zoeby have a natural disadvantage—they don't have much time to prepare.

There are a lot of things to deal with, so I can't rely on rote memorization for the exam; I have to resort to unconventional methods.

Information about the Monaco royal family is not a secret. After reading a few reports, the idea of ​​making use of this piano in the Golden Hall came to me.

When I was a child, those ten things on the front of my forearm were indeed carrots, but thanks to several improvements to the system's skills, those ten things have now become scalpels.

She can do intricate carvings, and playing the piano is of course a piece of cake for her.

Becoming a piano master might require some effort, but playing normally is quite easy.

In fact, Ronan has prepared many songs and will change his strategy depending on the royal family members present today.

If it were a prince, he would play the most popular disco songs in nightclubs right now, but in a softer version, of course, adapted by some extraordinary people.

If Princess Caroline were to come, he would play the country music that she had played at home for half a day on the day of her divorce. A gossip magazine photographed the princess dancing to that song for two whole hours.

Don't ask the princess why she's dancing to country music; as long as she likes it, that's all that matters. Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. Ronan was well-prepared to deal with these two, having a dozen or so songs in his repertoire.

But his biggest fear was meeting Princess Stephanie.

Gossip magazines didn't report much on this princess, and Ronan didn't know enough about her, so he could only bring up her mother, Princess Grace.

In fact, this was also a tactic used to deal with Prince Rainier III.

Although the chances of the prince appearing were extremely slim—he rarely attended non-essential events since his wife's death, and every time he did, he appeared incredibly grief-stricken and wore only black and white clothes—Ronan still made preparations.

If Prince Rainier III were to appear, Ronan's preparations would have the highest probability of attracting his attention and gaining his favor.

This prince missed his wife more than anyone else in the world.

Perhaps his purpose in marrying her was to save Monaco, but in the end, he fell in love with her.

Thoughts withdrawn.

Princess Stephanie was the royal family member Ronan least wanted to face because he didn't know her well enough to predict what might happen.

Sure enough, after hearing Ronan's answer, the princess began to press for details:

"If you didn't know the name of this song, how did you learn it?"

Ronan paused briefly.

It was indeed a minor bug, but not enough to stump him.

Ronan pondered for a second, found a relatively safe answer, and was about to speak when Zoe, who had been standing next to Princess Stephanie, took his arm, stood beside him, looked at the princess, and answered first:

“Remember when I told you that I missed the Princess’s memorial service because of work? I couldn’t go that time, but my boyfriend did. He was in the line to send flowers to the Princess when he heard a street artist playing the melody of this song. After talking to him, he found out that it was from that Broadway play.”

Ronan can fool everyone, but he can't fool Zoe's eyes.

Zoe keenly caught Ronan's 'fleeting' pause.

In their recent conversation, the princess and Zoe have established mutual trust.

Especially regarding the topic of his mother, Princess Grace.

Ronan and Zoe's chemistry is off the charts; they don't need to communicate beforehand at all.

Upon hearing Zoe's answer, Ronan added:
"That street artist played many pieces, all about the princess. You should know how many people mourned the princess's passing."

Princess Stephanie sighed:
"In my memory, my mother has always been a person who was loved and respected by everyone."

“Yes.” Ronan and Zoe both showed sad expressions.

Princess Stephanie looked at Ronan and asked:
"So, you can play several songs related to my mother?"

Ronan nodded:
Yes, I know a few.

Princess Stephanie gave a noncommittal "Oh," seemingly lost in thought.

Suddenly, she looked at Zoe:

"Hey, by the way, is this your boyfriend?"

Zoe introduced the princess:

"Yes, this is my boyfriend, Ronan."

"Oh, Ronan." Princess Stephanie turned and left, her steps quickening considerably as she had come, as if she had something urgent to attend to.

Behind her followed a large group of more than a dozen people, all waiting to speak with the princess.

The second lucky winner has appeared, so it's my turn to be the third one, right?
Some impatient fellows even rashly struck up a conversation with the princess, hoping to attract her attention.

In the blink of an eye, Princess Stephanie suddenly slammed on the brakes and returned to her seat at the piano.

She glanced at Zoe, then at Ronan, and suddenly her mouth dropped open:

"Zoe, Ronan, Zoe, Ronan... wait, you're that artist couple?!"

Ronan and Zoe exchanged a glance, then nodded with smiles:

Yes, it is us.

“Oh my God, I was wondering why Zoe’s name sounded so familiar.” Princess Stephanie made a dramatic 'Oh God, how could this happen?' expression, then flashed her first smile of the evening. “Although I haven’t left Monaco in a long time, I’ve heard a lot of stories about you, especially about you, Ronan.”

She stared at Ronan:
"My client mentions your name to me every few weeks. By the way, have you done any new work lately?"

Ronan shook his head sheepishly:

"No, I haven't done anything recently."

Having finally figured out the relationships between the characters, Princess Stephanie, in a very good mood, waved to the young couple:

"Come on, sit down and talk. We're disturbing other people by being here."

Ronan glanced around at the various guests, whose eyes were filled with envy, then grabbed Zoe's hand and quickly followed the princess, saying in a voice only Zoe could hear:

"Let's go! Our teamwork tonight was amazing! I told you we'd achieve twice the result with half the effort!"

Local stars and international superstars alike pale in comparison to us!
This is the tacit understanding cultivated through years of living together day and night.

Zoe also made a sound that only Ronan could hear, but that sound was mixed with undisguised joy:
"Did I do a good job tonight?"

Even before they got together, Zoe knew that Ronan was an 'actor,' and a pretty good one at that.

But it was also because of his superb acting skills that Zoe became famous in Provence—it was through his acting skills that Zoe attracted attention at the fair.

Tonight, Zoe also showed her acting side for the first time.

The two of them worked together flawlessly today; it was simply perfect.

Ronan patted Zoe's head and couldn't help but grin:
"What 'artistic couple'? From now on, please call us the 'actor' couple!"

Who says Zoe is the only celebrity?
We're both clearly excellent 'actors'!

Just as the young couple was whispering sweet nothings, Princess Stephanie suddenly slammed on the brakes again, turned around and said to them:

"No, no, no, Zoe, come with me. Ronan, you go back and keep playing."

After saying that, she whispered to the bodyguard beside her:
"Al-Hilal, go and tell Father that I'm hosting a banquet tonight to commemorate Mother. In the Golden Hall, a famous artist from Provence will be playing various episodes and themes from before and after Mother became famous. The melody that Ronan just played is one that Father hummed when I was very young. I believe Father will be extremely happy to hear this news."

There are more than two actors.

Princess Stephanie is also an excellent actress.

She was struggling with how to prove to her father that she still loved her deceased mother. Now, the solution was there.

(End of this chapter)