Chapter 26: Ronan, Is This Who You Really Are?

There was no asphalt road leading to Ronan’s house; only a crude dirt track.

Elena stepped gingerly through the melting snow, holding up her expensive dress while muttering complaints to herself as she approached the two-story yellow stone house.

When she was about ten meters away, she suddenly spotted someone "crawling" out of the second floor.

A young man with black hair and strikingly handsome features poked his head out of a window. He then swung a leg over the sill, sat sideways on the frame, and began striking at something with a hammer. Every time he struck, a puff of white mist escaped his lips.

The snow had not yet fully thawed, and even though Elena was wearing two pairs of thermal leggings, she still felt the chill. Yet, the man was wearing only a thin black sweater.

Isn't he cold?

Elena tilted her head back and stared for a long time, only realizing she had reached the house when she was right beneath him.

So, that is Ronan?

He looked nothing like she had imagined.

Actually, he didn't seem so bad...

No, no, no, stop it!

I’m only here to complete a mission. Once this silly boy is intimidated by my enthusiasm and flusteredly rejects me, my job is done!

Don't let your vanity cloud your judgment, Elena. Many men only look good from the side; it’s not like you haven’t learned that lesson the hard way before.

"Hello, who are you looking for?" Ronan finally noticed the stranger below.

Elena felt her heart skip a beat.

He looks even better from the front?

How can I possibly find a yellow-skinned man attractive?!

Elena cleared her throat and, using the posture and tone of a standard lady, said, "Hello, I am Elena, the sister of Theo and Lucas."

Ronan remained sitting on the window frame, asking curiously, "Is there something you need?"

He hadn't seen Theo in a long time, and he had only met Lucas once. What was their sister doing here looking for him?

Elena felt Ronan was being rather rude. She had adopted such a ladylike persona; couldn't he at least come down?

"What are you doing?" What could possibly be more important than greeting a beautiful lady?

"I’m replacing the windows," Ronan replied.

"Replacing the windows yourself?" Elena covered her mouth in an exaggerated gesture.

Didn't Theo say this Ronan was a truffle hunter? How could he also know how to do manual labor? Even Lucas, who made his living the same way, wouldn't know how to replace a window!

Ronan shrugged calmly. "Yes, I’ve already replaced four."

"Four?" Elena’s expression became even more dramatic, and she could no longer maintain her ladylike facade.

Seeing that the other party had no intention of leaving, Ronan climbed out of the window and stepped onto the slanted roof.

"My God! What are you doing?" Elena involuntarily raised both hands as if to catch him, terrified that Ronan might slip.

"The room is full of tools. I’m replacing the window to get inside and open the door for you." With that, Ronan crouched and dived into the adjacent window, his figure disappearing from sight.

Elena patted her chest.

Ronan was not only different from what she had imagined in appearance, but his personality was also quite distinct.

He was more "Provençal" than some of the locals themselves.

Here, "Provençal" referred to someone who was reckless yet sensible, direct but not crude, courageous, and certainly not lacking in intelligence. Simply put, he was the type of masculine man Elena liked.

And as they stood face to face, Elena felt Ronan seemed even more "manly."

The residents of Southern France were generally not very tall and were often "mocked" for it by people from other provinces. Here, a man reaching 175 centimeters was considered tall. Elena had an inexplicable fondness for Germans, partly because they were tall and sturdy. Although Ronan was only 179 centimeters, he definitely had a height advantage in Provence.

My God, does Ronan check every single one of my aesthetic boxes?

"Is there something you need?" Ronan opened the front door and invited Elena inside. However, he made no move to offer his guest coffee or wine.

After playing with Blackie and drinking at the old tavern, Ronan had accumulated enough happiness points to upgrade his [Construction] skill to Level 2. He had immediately plunged into the window renovation work. After a careful assessment, he decided to prioritize the second-floor bedroom and the draftiest windows on the ground floor, leaving the others for emergency repairs to be addressed gradually.

He had only finished half of the second-floor bedroom window—the most critical area—and was determined to finish it today. He never wanted to sleep in a drafty house again.

Ronan looked at Elena impatiently.

If you have something to say, just say it. What are you looking at? Is there something written on my face?

Elena snapped back to reality, rubbing her face to hide her guilty conscience. She had already planned what to say upon meeting Ronan, but now she found it difficult to speak.

If Ronan rejected her confession, how would she answer to Lucas when she returned? Would that crude man believe her story?

And what if Ronan agreed... *hee hee, hee hee hee*.

"I am here on behalf of my two brothers to invite you to a party," Elena said finally.

*Lucky Lucas.*

*I won't sabotage you this time!*

Ronan’s first instinct was to find an excuse to refuse, assuming the party would be centered around truffles. He had been so overwhelmed by the wretched northwesterly winds these past few days that he hadn't thought about that at all.

But the chance to attend a party at a wealthy household was rare, and he had been meaning to expand his social circle. After some deliberation, Ronan finally agreed.

"Alright, I will be sure to attend."

...

After seeing the strange Elena off, Ronan had just returned to the second floor to continue working on the windows when his phone rang.

Zoe’s voice sounded low, and Ronan immediately imagined the worst.

"Did Mena Village reject us?"

Zoe paused. "Well... the owner of the pottery shop I know said there are hundreds of applications to set up stalls in Mena Village every month, and the number of approvals is always kept under ten."

Ronan scratched his head. "Don't be discouraged. There are so many villages in Provence; we’ll just apply to others."

Zoe asked worriedly, "What will you do this week, then?"

"The weather has been bad these past few days, so I haven't gone out," Ronan said, looking at the snow-covered ground outside.

"That's good." Zoe felt a moment of relief, her tone turning exceptionally firm. "I will definitely solve the stall issue by next week. You don't need to worry."

*Such a sense of security...* Ronan mused.

"Stay in touch. I’ll try to find other ways through my own connections."

"Alright, let's keep in touch."

...

After returning home, Elena received rare praise from her brother, Lucas. Having tasted the sweetness of success, she decided to put in more effort to win him over sooner... no, wait, to help her brother and Ronan align their interests.

She hadn't mentioned the date of the party during their last meeting because she had made it up on the spot. Her excuse to Ronan was that the date depended on the availability of the other guests.

Now that the date was set, even though she had Ronan’s phone number, she chose to deliver the message in person.

She walked happily along the muddy, slushy dirt road in front of Ronan’s house, finding it neither difficult to traverse nor off-putting.

After adjusting her dress and posing at what she considered her most flattering angle, she knocked on the door.

To her surprise, it wasn't Ronan who opened the door, but a woman Elena never could have expected.

Her elegance and poise vanished in an instant.