[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia":3,"chapter-my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-28":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","My Life as a Literary Giant in Russia",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2317203,4531,"Chapter 28: The Boastful Turgenev (Tuesday Request for Follow)","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-28",28,"\u003Cp>Mikhail had a fairly confident guess about where Belinsky might invite him to gather—most likely at the home of the poet Ivan Ivanovich Panayev, the same man who had once engaged in a threesome with Nekrasov.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s worth noting that Belinsky had no shortage of wealthy friends, but he rarely asked them for help—partly due to his personal character, and partly because some of those friends were unreliable, each clinging tightly to their money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among them, Panayev and his wife Adofya were among the most dependable, having provided considerable support for Belinsky’s life and several major events over the past few years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As previously mentioned, Belinsky was poor and inflexible in many ways, but he would never willingly starve to death if he could avoid it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, over the years in St. Petersburg, Belinsky had founded the Hunger Writers Club, whose activities, beyond daily reading, card games, and boasting, centered most importantly on group outings to dine at the home of the great poet Panayev.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the nature of the club’s members was evident from its name—they were mostly people who couldn’t afford to eat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nekrasov had probably only just been admitted this year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now, it seemed Mikhail was about to find his own group!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a faintly excited heart, Mikhail followed the address on the letter until, at last, he spotted two familiar figures and one tall stranger at a crossroad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two familiar ones needed no introduction—Nekrasov and Belinsky, clearly penniless; the tall man beside them, however, was far more polished—light blond hair, bright eyes, a noble air of carefree innocence on his face, unmistakably someone who had never known hardship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Long time no see, Nikolai and dear Vissarion,” Mikhail greeted with a smile as he approached: “Sorry to keep you waiting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, we should have gone to meet you,” Belinsky said, his pale face flushing with excitement at Mikhail’s arrival: “Seeing you like this, I’m relieved—it’s true, as Nikolai said, those vicious articles in the magazine didn’t affect you at all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why get angry?” Mikhail shrugged: “When faced with blind men, all we can do is pity them and forgive their nonsense.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wait, why am I so aggressive?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re right, Mikhail!” Before Mikhail could recover from his own words, Belinsky laughed: “I often tell myself that. By the way, I haven’t introduced you to this gentleman yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Belinsky could say more, the young man beside him eagerly extended his hand toward Mikhail: “I’ve wanted to meet you for so long, Mikhail—may I call you that? I never imagined a work like yours could exist, with such simple, unadorned writing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, I’m Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hello, pleased to meet you,” Mikhail said, slightly stirred by the young man’s familiar face—he’d seen him somewhere in a book—and shook his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Undoubtedly, Turgenev was a great writer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But too many writers only earn the title of “great” when judged over a lifetime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, the young Turgenev was little different from many idle noble youths—given to small lies, vanity, boasting, fond of recounting his romantic exploits, eager to court the powerful, and somewhat tactless and gossipy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of this personality, Dostoevsky—who had once held him in high regard and even praised him in letters as:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What a wonderful man! I’ve almost fallen in love with him. Poet, genius, nobleman, handsome, wealthy, intelligent, well-educated, twenty-five— I can’t imagine how God could have treated him any better? Above all, his character is exceptionally frank, noble, shaped by fine upbringing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had become furious and severed ties with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, old Dostoevsky’s own character wasn’t any better—he, too, was once a pretentious young writer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We’ll set those details aside for now; at this stage, though Turgenev loved to boast, his conscience was still decent, and he possessed one excellent quality:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m very glad to meet you, Mikhail,” Turgenev said, clearly excited to have met the man who had recently stirred up such a storm in St. Petersburg, and immediately added: “Let’s meet privately sometime—I’ll treat you to dinner!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail nodded firmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Mikhail was thrilled by those words, there was a small problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is, though Turgenev was a rich heir, he still relied on his mother for allowance, and his habit of boasting and treating others often left him unable to afford meals himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, Turgenev was now also a member of the Hunger Writers Club.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not good—I’ll have to time it right and get him to treat me right after he gets his allowance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Mikhail pondered this, the three began walking toward a destination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along the way, Turgenev clearly took great interest in Mikhail, peppering him with questions and opinions on various topics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail answered cautiously—any slip could easily become Turgenev’s next gossip material.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides that, there was Belinsky’s questioning:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mikhail, are you still writing? You must keep at it—your talent will surely make you a great writer one day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, Belinsky glanced sideways at Turgenev: “Don’t be like him, wasting day after day in childish distractions, when you have such decent talent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Turgenev slightly embarrassed, Mikhail thought for a moment and spoke up: “I’ve finished a new piece—I’m preparing to submit it to a magazine again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, all three turned to look at Mikhail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Excellent, wonderful!” Belinsky exclaimed, visibly thrilled: “Would you mind reading it aloud for a group of respectable gentlemen? I’m about to introduce you to them—they all have fine artistic taste and might offer you some useful feedback.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feeling grateful for the editor’s recommendation and the chapter push from the author of “The Shadow of Great Britain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, this newbie is a little terrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pressure is real, but I’ll push through anyway (fly rubbing hands).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thank you all for your support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",961,"2026-06-20T14:41:53.633Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","36c29779fd71d22a6b36196c4163573ac4f4d6db62523c9c7f176cb1f95d16a1","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-29","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-27",105,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-cover.jpg"]