[{"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-71":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},2317246,4531,"Chapter 71: I, Mikhail, Really Am Not a Gambling Addict","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-71",71,"\u003Cp>The reasons why Old Tuo is a gambling addict are actually quite complex, but if we focus only on the early causes, they can be summarized simply enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Basically, during Old Tuo’s childhood, though his family was a minor noble household, their financial situation was far from affluent; moreover, his beloved mother died early, and his father was a classic alcoholic. In this quintessential Russian opening—a repressive family environment—Old Tuo grew up withdrawn and, to some extent, emotionally broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When someone grows up long-term in repression and suddenly gains great freedom, they are likely to let loose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Tuo was much the same: though his family was modest, after entering university he began to care deeply about food and clothing, cultivated refined tastes, danced the mazurka exceptionally well, and constantly wrote letters home asking for money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After his father’s death, this habit didn’t just persist—it seemed to worsen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This may also have been due to social circles: among the upper-class literary and artistic circles of St. Petersburg where Old Tuo moved, many people came from wealth or nobility and prided themselves on treating money like dirt, living for the moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Old Tuo’s family was minor nobility, compared to these people they were still poor; associating with this crowd, not going broke would have been strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Old Tuo was influenced by Romanticism: the heroes in Romantic works were typically reckless, drawn to adventure, duels, and of course gambling. Thus, even in his youth, Dostoevsky already displayed a passionate obsession with cards and roulette.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a result, despite inheriting a substantial fortune from his father, he ended up pre-spending nearly all of the thousand-plus rubles he received, losing every last kopeck at the gambling table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To hear someone say “All-in is wisdom” in front of a gambling addict like Old Tuo made Mikhail genuinely panic—he wished he could turn back time and take back his own words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn it, what if this guy writes memoirs later and blames his gambling habit on me?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, seeing Old Tuo looking thoughtful, Mikhail quickly issued a disclaimer: “Of course, I mean in extremely rare cases. Under most circumstances, such behavior is absolutely unacceptable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mikhail, why did you suddenly change your mind?” They were so used to Mikhail’s usual calm, confident tone that his slight hesitation now felt genuinely odd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, they had originally had no faith in this business. Though thanks to Belinsky, Nekrasov’s anthology had been cut to a very low cost, in today’s Russia, for well-known reasons, cultural ventures certainly weren’t thriving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under such uncertain market conditions, few dared place heavy bets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially since Mikhail wasn’t using spare money—he’d scraped together every ruble bit by bit—this looked even more insane to many.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even those who disliked the young man’s writing waited for him to be crushed by debt, hoping he’d never rise again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They believed only then could Russia’s literary scene truly rid itself of this corrupt trend and return to the right path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People in Belinsky’s circle didn’t harbor such malice, but they genuinely didn’t believe in it either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet over time, for reasons unknown, when they saw Mikhail remain as steady as an old dog, speaking of the matter with utter nonchalance—as if the debt weren’t even on his shoulders—they couldn’t help but be infected by his composure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, their skepticism was already crumbling; after witnessing the outcome, their perception of Mikhail might change entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But right now, this Mikhail was panicking!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And panicking while dominating the card table!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is this right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone immediately asked: “Why have you suddenly lost your confidence? As for your ‘extremely rare cases,’ I don’t see anything unique about what you’re doing now—in fact, I think you’re making a massive gamble.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the word “massive gamble,” Dostoevsky, who had been half-dazed, suddenly perked up and immediately headed toward Nekrasov to ask about the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail, watching Dostoevsky’s reaction: “.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fine, we’ll talk about it later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sighing, slightly headachy, Mikhail set the matter aside for now and refocused on the card table before him:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, I won.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Mikhail suddenly declare this, those who had been waiting curiously for his reply burst into groans:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“God, when did you win? I didn’t feel a thing!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t make me sit here anymore—let the devil come! The devil can beat Mikhail!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m too scared to count how much money you’ve taken from me lately—look, Mikhail, whenever you’re here, Vissarion would rather deal with Mr. Krayevsky than sit across from you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing these groans, Mikhail was long accustomed—he said nothing, only shook his head, signaling them to pay up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be frank, winning too much is bad—it really does make you lose friends—but sometimes, it’s simply not in Mikhail’s power to avoid winning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Mikhail continued playing, the young Dostoevsky had already approached Belinsky and Nekrasov.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, Belinsky should have introduced Dostoevsky to everyone upon his arrival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But unluckily, Mikhail had just arrived shortly before Dostoevsky, so most people’s attention had already centered on Mikhail; asking them all to drop what they were doing and turn to Dostoevsky now would have been inappropriate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So let’s wait a bit—once the slight buzz caused by Mikhail’s arrival settles, then introduce Dostoevsky properly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now, let this nervous, shy young man adjust to the gathering’s atmosphere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Belinsky and Nekrasov thought much the same, but Dostoevsky seemed to have lingered only briefly before walking back toward them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",904,"2026-06-20T14:41:53.633Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","691af8b85c6e95788b736692c899c083c575fd50f51cd1f770b4d018951b2e46","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-72","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-70",105,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-cover.jpg"]