[{"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-35":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},2317210,4531,"Chapter 35: Expectation","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-35",35,"\u003Cp>With the first gathering officially over, Mikhail, Belinsky, and Nekrasov supported each other as they left Panayev’s villa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, all three had drunk some wine; Mikhail had kept himself restrained, but Belinsky and Nekrasov were already dizzy. At Slavic gatherings, alcohol was rarely absent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, all three had eaten quite a bit—their bellies had visibly swollen, and without leaning on each other, they’d have had to cling to the walls to walk, which would’ve been undignified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cough… cough…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Belinsky’s home was closer to Panayev’s, so Mikhail and Nekrasov jointly carried the rarely relaxed critic to his new wife.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, Belinsky had just married; marrying at thirty-two was already somewhat late by later standards, let alone in contemporary Russia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason, of course, was that Belinsky was poor. Just a year earlier, he had lamented to Panayeva that he’d likely die a lifelong bachelor—only for fate to turn abruptly when one of his admirers began writing him letters, and soon enough, he fell in love with his fan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Belinsky’s new wife hurried to lead him to bed, slightly dizzy Belinsky suddenly grabbed Mikhail’s hand and solemnly said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mikhail, I don’t know if this novel will pass the censors, but I’ll do everything I can to fight for it! Such a novel deserves to be seen by more people exactly as it is!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All right, dear Vissarion, but if revisions are truly needed, that’s fine too—eventually, it will appear before the world in its complete form.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After smiling and replying thus to Belinsky, Mikhail also greeted Belinsky’s new wife, who was watching him curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She immediately laughed and said: “You must be Mikhail? I’ve heard your name daily from Vissarion lately—I almost thought he’d fallen in love with some young lady!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After teasing Mikhail like this, the lady quickly bid them farewell and went to tend to Belinsky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Mikhail and Nekrasov’s homes were farther from Panayev’s, neither had any intention of taking a carriage; instead, they stubbornly prepared to measure the streets of St. Petersburg on foot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they walked forward, Nekrasov kept glancing at Mikhail; after countless glances, he finally sighed and said: “Mikhail, when will I ever be like you? You’re talented, sharp, wise, composed…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail, watching Nekrasov babble on: “….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You’ve got quite a few flattering words—you’re making me embarrassed…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dear Nekrasov, believe me, your own fortune will come.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail truly understood Nekrasov’s current plight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Homeless, penniless, and in love with his noble friend’s wife—of course he was anxious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In modern terms, it’s like a recent graduate unemployed during an economic downturn with no family to fall back on…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Mikhail told Nekrasov firmly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One day, you’ll be St. Petersburg’s top publisher, you’ll earn a fortune, and your poems will be remembered by countless people.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah, you’ll even manage to sleep with his wife…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I hope things turn out as you say! Hahaha!” Emboldened by Mikhail’s certainty, the drunken Nekrasov perked up: “If it really happens like you say, I’ll have to change my title—I’ll call you Prophet! Prophet Mikhail!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That nickname isn’t bad…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a grueling walk, out of friendship, Mikhail carried Nekrasov all the way to his home—he couldn’t leave a drunk man alone, not knowing what he might do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially in today’s Russia, drunkards were defined by inner pain and repression, using alcohol to numb and vent their souls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail also took a quick look at Nekrasov’s home—it was no better than his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it doesn’t matter—once the anthology is published, we’ll both be rich!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After dropping off Nekrasov, Mikhail walked alone through the streets, finally having time to think—mainly about the story “Sleepy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s risky, but not terribly so. If it ended with an open question, it would be safer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, in Russia at this time, there was a slightly counterintuitive fact: publicly, no writer had ever been punished solely for writing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the problem was that nearly every famous Russian writer’s work carried some political tendency, and beyond writing, they all actively participated in political activities—meaning Russian writers were virtually synonymous with political prisoners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Often, their works became vehicles for their political views.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And when politics were involved, the Tsar would strike hard—otherwise it’d be strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the arrests of writers and critics were almost always for political reasons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, old Dostoevsky wasn’t punished because he wrote about the poor’s suffering—he was targeted because he participated in the Petrashevsky Circle’s activities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, his works certainly exposed Russia’s darkness, but since they leaned more toward religious redemption than radical politics, he largely escaped further punishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, as long as Mikhail didn’t openly declare radical political views or directly join radical political activities, writing stories that merely seemed “humanitarian” wouldn’t land him in serious trouble—only criticism from some quarters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though being constantly attacked does sound miserable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t want to end up like Gogol or my brother Tu—just giving up entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, in a few years, it won’t be possible anymore. After the 1848 “Spring of Nations,” the Tsar turned into an ultra-sensitive soul, banning every hint of sensitivity and crushing culture into lifeless silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But these articles now aren’t entirely safe—yet this is Mikhail’s way of avoiding the Tsar’s iron fist while clinging to a faint, almost ethereal hope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The true bright future may still be very far off—will any of the thousands of Wan Ka, Yona, and Valka in this era find their lives slightly better because of these stories?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Will they? Probably not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But will they really not? Perhaps they will.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who can say for sure?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail walked slowly along this narrow alley, damp and moldy walls on either side; he couldn’t turn back, so he kept walking forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the distant horizon remained blurred and indistinct,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail still walked on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",961,"2026-06-20T14:41:53.633Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","3d15e41dc69db331a4b8a2f10faf2bfda661e2db6193d8f28a96f0a55bcf606c","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-36","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-34",105,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-cover.jpg"]