1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 469 It's over, there's a 'scandal' going on!

Don't be fooled by Theo and Batistuta's loud pronouncements, saying they'll drink until they drop and fight until dawn.

But their ability to stay up all night has deteriorated.

After Ronan and Zoe paid their respects to Princess Grace at the Rose Garden, the group went out for an incredibly expensive fast food meal, and then moved to a pub. As soon as they sat down, they started yawning incessantly.

Although they gritted their teeth and played for a while, they soon gave up and went back to the hotel, losing their nerve.

It was already late, and everyone was exhausted. Returning to Nice was neither practical nor safe, so Ronan didn't urge his friends to leave.

The girls went to Cotillard's room, while the boys stayed in Ronan and Zoe's room, and they slept together all night.

Ronan is really tired.

I drove for several hours the day before, and there was a huge traffic jam. My ankle was sore from pressing the clutch. In the afternoon and evening, I went to watch the qualifying race and the banquet. I couldn't take it anymore, and I passed out the moment I lay down.

The next morning, I was woken up by knocking on the door.

I glanced at my watch and realized it wasn't even 6 a.m. yet.

"Who is it?" Theo raised his head, which looked like a bird's nest.

"It might be Cotillard." Ronan rubbed his eyes, struggled to find his clothes in the sea of ​​garments, and while putting them on, stood up to open the door.

Yesterday, Cotillard said that due to the increased exposure of this year's Monaco F1 race, an extra event was added this morning for Ronan and Zoe to attend an art event hosted by a sponsor.

But isn't this a bit too early?
He opened the door feeling dizzy, but Ronan immediately snapped back to reality.

Standing outside was Ines, dressed in sportswear, a side of her Ronan had never seen before.

"Get ready, we'll be going out in a bit." Ines didn't explain much, pointing into the room and saying succinctly, "Let Zoe wake up too. No need for makeup or preparation, there's a dressing room and makeup artist downstairs."

Before Ronan could say anything, Theo's impatient grumbling came from inside the room:
"Who is it? So early, can't a person get any sleep? Ronan, close the door right now and come back to sleep."

Ines was momentarily stunned and couldn't help but look into the room. Wasn't this Ronan and Zoe living there?
A burly man, as big as a double-door refrigerator, stood shirtless (and barely wearing anything underneath) blocking the doorway. His chest hair was thick and matted, a dark patch.
"Ronan, who is this woman?"

Ronan quickly closed the door, keeping Cafu's explicit photos out, and explained to Ines:
"There was a little mishap; Zoe didn't sleep here last night; a friend came over."

The cost of the house was covered by Michelin magazine, and it was intended for Ronan and Zoe to use as a resting place during their activities.

Ronan was a little embarrassed to say that a whole village actually lived in the house.

Ines nodded without saying anything.

However, Ronan wondered if he was overthinking it, but he felt that Ines's gaze towards him had changed, becoming less clear than usual.

Suddenly, the door behind Ronan was flung open.

Barty, wearing a tight red T-shirt that exposed his navel, peeked out and looked over. His physique, combined with the clothes and his reaction, made the knitting artist look like a mentally unstable psychopath.

He ran inside, shouting excitedly:
"I knew that voice was so familiar! Clothes, clothes, where are my clothes? Damn Ronan, where did you throw them?"

Ines frowned as he looked at Ronan, his eyes becoming even more unclear.

Through the crack in the door, she saw a third, a fourth, and a fifth burly man in tattered clothes inside the room.
After half an hour.

Inside the private dressing room of Michelin magazine in the same hotel.

“Your situation is different now than before, you must cherish your reputation.” Ines paced back and forth in the dressing room, her expression shifting between gloom and sunshine. “You gave me a chance to explain, but those tabloid reporters won’t give you a chance to speak. They’ll write whatever they see. Do you know what they’ll write about what happened this morning? Next time something like this happens, you absolutely must not open the door! You must never open it, even if it kills you!”

If I saw Ines this morning, the boot progress was 30%.

After listening to Ines ramble on for more than ten minutes, Ronan's somewhat dazed mind finally started working again.

He explained for what seemed like the umpteenth time:
"My friends are just staying at my place for one night, it shouldn't be that serious, right?"

Ines said solemnly:
“I told you, the situation is different now. Do you know how many media outlets and magazines in the South of France and Monaco are searching for details about you and Zoe? Do you know how many people are staying up all night to write articles about you? Do you know how many eyes are watching you today?”

Ronan nervously swallowed:

"That much?"

To be honest, Ronan knew that he and Zoe would be in the spotlight today.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have said that when trying to comfort Zoe.

Close-up shots during the live broadcast and their performance at the royal dinner put them in the spotlight, with Prince Nie III's gift further overshadowing Princess Stephanie and making Ronan the focus of attention yesterday.

But the situation Ines described was more serious than he had anticipated.

Ines patted Ronan on the shoulder and said:
“You may think I’m making a mountain out of a molehill, but at this crucial moment, we absolutely cannot afford to make any mistakes. Remember, today you can only show everyone your best side.”

After saying that, she pointed to the dressing chair next to Zoe and said:
“You used to wear makeup too.”

Ronan shook his head repeatedly:

"No, no, I didn't wear makeup during the last shoot."

The editor-in-chief said in an unquestionable tone:
“I told you, the situation is different now, and we need to hold ourselves to higher standards. You don’t want to be seen as Zoe’s bodyguard, do you?”

Are bodyguards better than drivers? Ronan's nonsensical rant.

Despite his complaints, he glanced at Zoe, who was quietly putting on makeup on the other side.

Although it was only the beginning, it reminded Ronan of the word 'naturally beautiful'.

After much deliberation, Ronan finally compromised:

"it is good."

Ines instructed the makeup artist:

"Give him a makeover, make him look like a real star."

Cotillard arranged an art event for Ronan and Zoe at 10:30 a.m.

The whole event was very simple: I just talked about the creative concept behind Zoe's submitted artwork, made some friends, and there was nothing I needed to prepare.

She set her alarm for 7:30 a.m., which gave her plenty of time to get ready and do her makeup.

However, she vaguely heard someone knocking on the door in the morning, and she also heard Zoe say something about going to put on makeup, and then... she continued dreaming.

I'm getting old, and I can't stay up all night anymore.

I only went to bed a few hours late, but this morning I felt like the effects of sleeping pills hadn't worn off. The alarm clock went off right on time.

Cotillard slowly got up and realized that Zoe wasn't in the room. Only then did she realize that what had just happened wasn't a dream; Zoe really had gotten up early to put on makeup.

If he's not in this room, then he must have gone to Ronan's room.

After quickly washing up, Cotillard grabbed an apple and ate it as she walked to Ronan's room on the same floor.

I knocked on the door a few times, but there was no response.

She leaned against the door and listened, but there was no sound.

"These guys are sleeping too soundly, didn't they hear the knocking?"

"Did they go out?"

"Or perhaps Ronan and Zoe are doing something bad inside?"

Countless reasonable and unreasonable ideas emerged, making Gotia even more eager to know what had happened inside.

After knocking a few more times, the sound of the lock finally came through.

Cornell said impatiently:

"Ugh, this lousy hotel bed is no good, but the soundproofing is pretty good. We've been shouting 'Wait a minute' in there until our voices are hoarse."

Cotillard pushed open the door and found that Cornell's men had already disappeared.

"What are you doing?" she asked loudly as she stepped inside.

"Taking a photo with a celebrity!" came Theo's mischievous laugh from deep within.

"Hey, Mom? Are you awake? If you are, come over quickly! The celebrities will be leaving soon, so come and take a picture with them!" Cornell shouted into the microphone.

"Ronan, are you going to dress like this for your wedding? Who would dare to be your best man then?" Cafu asked, arms crossed, clicking his tongue in amazement.

Cotillard took two steps forward, and when she saw the 'stars' inside, she dropped the apple in her hand, which hit her feet.

She pointed tremblingly at Ronan, who was making a peace sign:

"You...you...you...you changed your head?"

Ronan's hair was shorter, combed back in a fluffy style, with natural bangs on one side, the texture of which was clearly defined. It was the most popular style at the moment, and it was from Paris.

Thick, well-defined eyebrows made his face look much more sculpted and strong. I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I think Ronan's eyes have become more profound.

Yesterday she was thinking—the young man was good-looking and energetic, but standing next to Zoe, he always seemed to be missing something.

Today she finally figured it out—Zoe dressed herself up according to the standards of a 'celebrity,' while Ronan relied on his clothes to carry himself; they were on completely different levels, okay?
Ronan hadn't changed his clothes yet, he was just wearing a T-shirt, but he and Zoe next to him had finally entered the same world!
Ever since Ronan returned, everyone around him has been like this; he's used to it, and he shrugged at Cotillard with a particularly relaxed expression.

"You'll have to ask the makeup artists at Michelin magazine."

Across from him, Zoe, who was taking photos of everyone, put down her camera and looked around.

"I think I've learned how to do it. I'll do it like this for you next time. It'll look very natural and you won't be able to tell it's makeup."

Gotia asked them, puzzled:
"Why is Ronan wearing makeup too? Why does Michelin Magazine need to do your makeup?"

Zoe's makeup was even more glamorous and stunning than yesterday's, clearly the work of a professional makeup artist from Michelin Magazine.

Ronan suddenly slapped his forehead, clearly having thought of something important:
"You stopped us as soon as we came in, and we almost forgot about the important matter. Honey, let's hurry up and change our clothes. Ines's car is still waiting for us downstairs."

Codia followed Zoe, who was scrambling around, and asked, bewildered:
"What event? Our event is at 10 a.m., and it's only a little past 7 a.m."

Zoe let out a long sigh of relief, and said, equally bewildered:
"Ines has assigned Ronan and me a lot of work, starting at 8 a.m. and continuing until the main match in the afternoon. You should also hurry up and get ready; we'll meet at the elevator in 5 minutes."

"Starts at 8 o'clock?" Codia's hair stood on end. "What kind of event is there that early? The earliest event doesn't start until after 9 o'clock."

This is Monaco, a place even more relaxed than Provence.

What can I do at 8 o'clock?
Ronan, carrying his clothes for the day, went into the bathroom with Zoe.

"Still early? Ines's work started at 6 a.m. today. She went for a morning run and had breakfast with the director of a luxury brand. Ines said that on such important days, one day has to be used as five days, and there is no time to breathe. After today, she can rest however she wants, and she won't stop her."

Following Batti, Ines became Cotillard's goddess.

It's not just because Ines splits a day into five days with her words, but also because of her vision, skill, professionalism, execution ability, and industry standing.

As Ronan and Zoe's agent, Cotillard naturally accompanied them throughout the entire process.

When Ronan and Zoe arrived at a café at 8 a.m. to have breakfast with a group of Provençal celebrities, Cotillard chatted with the Michelin magazine staff who had come with them and learned that all of Ronan and Zoe's activities for the day had been arranged by Ines last night after returning to the hotel.

In other words, after seeing Ronan and Zoe's potential and performance, this "media queen" of southern France immediately increased her investment, pouring resources into them one after another.

Her actions were so swift and efficient, without any hesitation—truly as she said, she treated one day as five for Ronan and Zoe.

In the morning, the young couple had breakfast twice with two different groups of people. Before noon, they visited every event hosted by every sponsor. Although they didn't spend much time at each place, they were the absolute center of attention wherever they went.

Through their own efforts and with the encouragement of Ines, the two artists received the same treatment as superstars in Monaco.

Today, they are destined to shine like stars!
Cotillard had lost count of how many photos Michelin magazine had taken of them, and Ronan and Zoe had shaken hands and chatted with many people. Anyway, she was already hallucinating, feeling her cheeks getting sore from the constant smiling.

Of course, her cheeks were also overworked today.

Everywhere he went, partners would approach Codia to collaborate and exchange contact information. It's no exaggeration to say that Codia's ballpoint pen ink had been used up to a huge amount.

"We're rich! We're rich! These two are set for the future!" Codia locked himself in a toilet stall and happily started wiggling around.

Cotillard is focused on the gains in terms of exposure.

For example, how much material Ronan and Zoe have received, which big brands they are favored by, and how many people have extended invitations to them.

Increased exposure leads to increased fame and a corresponding increase in personal value, making it much easier to monetize one's artwork or public appearances in the future.

Ronan, however, is interested in a wider range of ways to 'monetize' his money.

I participated in so many activities today, met so many people, and received so much attention. I need to get the advertising going quickly!

“Artist is just one of my identities. I’m also a restaurant owner, winery manager, and chairman of a handicraft cooperative. Well, strictly speaking, I’m also a bold experimenter trying to cultivate wild black truffles using modern technology. Have you ever eaten Chinese food? Do you like rosé wine? Have you ever heard of weaving? Since I’m free anyway, I might as well tell you about it.”

Centered on Monaco and with Provence as its radius, Ronan scattered his various businesses like seeds, nourished and watered by newly acquired personal connections, just waiting for the day they would blossom and bear fruit.

(End of this chapter)