[{"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-50":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},2317225,4531,"Chapter 50: The Card-Playing Belinsky","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-50",50,"\u003Cp>Regarding the dissolution of the engagement, things progressed far more smoothly than Mikhail had imagined—probably because that gentleman’s antics had been so excessive that even he could no longer bring himself to persist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After resolving this matter, though Mikhail’s sister had remained silent throughout and barely participated at all, appearing calm and composed, once everything was finally settled, the young woman—who had endured so much hardship lately—looked noticeably lighter, her smile returning more frequently, revealing once again the vibrancy of youth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the situation hadn’t been so dire, who would have made such a hasty decision?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this matter concluded, though the pace had not been swift, just as Mikhail had thought when he first sat down at his dilapidated desk, he had rewritten his sister’s fate with his pen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterward, Mikhail’s mother and sister did not rush to return home; though Saint Petersburg, filled with manure and drunkards, had little to offer, since they had seen each other so rarely, they naturally wished to spend more time with Mikhail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail found this perfectly fine—even his quality of life improved considerably thanks to his mother and sister’s care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, besides chatting with his mother and sister and writing, Mikhail naturally had to keep visiting the Panayevs’ home to mooch meals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cough cough\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But soon, Mikhail was about to enter a new battlefield: with the release of his new novel, he had further solidified his reputation in Saint Petersburg’s cultural circles; more and more people seemed to have heard his name, and some nobles passionate about Russian culture—or merely eager to appear refined—were quite willing to associate with writers like him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes, reputation and prestige alone could bring a person many things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Belinsky was a good example.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he came from humble origins and many saw him as crude, thanks to his immense influence in literary criticism, numerous nobles and even generals sought to invite him to their homes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet in this regard, Belinsky behaved like a true homebody: rather than attending various banquets, literary evenings, or readings, he preferred to hang out with his small group, boast, play cards, and occasionally engage in serious discussions about politics and art.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Notably, though Belinsky’s group sometimes sounded shabby—as if all its members were paupers—it turned out they really were.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Belinsky held high standards for his group members, hoping that beyond talent, they would also be upright, blameless men worthy of public respect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he had once told Mikhail and the others:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gentlemen, everyone has human weaknesses—that’s forgivable. But we are harshly and impartially judged for these weaknesses, and they have the right to do so, because by exposing the vulgarity, corruption, and selfishness of social life in our writings, we declare ourselves entirely free of these flaws.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Therefore, we must act with caution—otherwise, what use is what we write? We will destroy our own credibility!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In terms of character alone, Belinsky stood among the very top tier of Russia’s literary world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turgenev, for instance, had plenty of bad habits and had frequently been scolded by Belinsky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from his work, Belinsky had no other vices, only two modest hobbies: a deep love of flowers, and a deep love of playing cards—exactly what Mikhail and the others were doing now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The card game they played, called Préférence, was another example of Russia’s adoption of French culture; Mikhail had initially been very unskilled and lost several kopecks, which pained him for days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I won.” Mikhail laid down his final card and smiled at the group: “Pay up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good heavens!” Belinsky, who didn’t believe in God, patted his pockets and exclaimed: “One Nicholas was already enough to ruin us, and now here comes Mikhail! Playing cards with you is dangerous—you’ll make us lose our boots too!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You really just learned recently? How did you improve so fast? I’ve been playing this game for nearly twenty years!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you’re bad, practice more!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he wanted to say it, seeing the poor guys around the table struggling to dig out their coins, Mikhail ultimately dropped the provocative remark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Notably, before Mikhail learned, Nekrasov—who had long been immersed in the harsh realities of society—had been the biggest winner; yet now, even Nekrasov, who had always been confident in his card skills, could only grimace as he paid up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Belinsky, though he winced at the loss, he settled his debt, then said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mikhail, having lost so much to you, I’ve begun to think I should quit this habit. But maybe not playing with you at all is an even better idea.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dear Belinsky, I was just lucky,” Mikhail quickly replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s play a few more hands—you might win it all back soon!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, come on, Mikhail! You said the exact same thing last time!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be fair, Mikhail felt he had a good touch at this—perhaps later he could play more with old Dostoevsky and try to help him kick his gambling habit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m not trying to win his money!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Due to Mikhail’s performance, the card game instantly collapsed. Seeing this, Turgenev—who had lost quite a bit but seemed unconcerned—suddenly remembered something and spoke up:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mikhail, don’t forget tonight’s gathering. Remember what I told you? We’re going to the home of a Lieutenant General! All the guests will be upper-class ladies, and he has a daughter who serves as a lady-in-waiting at court—young, and very beautiful!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“His reputation and connections are unimaginable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was clear Turgenev took tonight’s banquet seriously, but Mikhail merely nodded casually, mentally calculating how much he’d won today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for how to deal with those upper-class gentlemen and ladies, flattering and currying favor would be fastest—but after careful thought, Mikhail realized he simply couldn’t bring himself to do it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Better to slowly build his reputation; once it reached a certain level, he wouldn’t need to say much—they’d become eager themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Turgenev continued, he mentioned another important matter:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tonight’s gathering will also have other writers and critics present—we may need to read our own works, but time is short, so we can only recite a few lines of short poetry. I’ve prepared two melancholy love poems.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about you, Mikhail? Why not read a passage from your novel? I’m sure the gentlemen and ladies will enjoy it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, I think they probably won’t like it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it doesn’t matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail raised his head and smiled faintly, then said, to the group’s mild surprise:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry, dear Ivan—I know a bit about poetry too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thank you to “BookFriend20231226031539610” and “Shan Hai Feiyu” for their generous donations—thank you very much (heart)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1094,"2026-06-20T14:41:53.633Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","b7b7bd3fc841dac8d906d10757b1e0aaccc9c7edaf2ce3453c42252f32b02496","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-51","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-49",105,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-cover.jpg"]