[{"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-74":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},2317249,4531,"Chapter 74: Grudges, Affections, and Feuds (Requesting First Subscription!)","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-74",74,"\u003Cp>Mikhail felt that, overall, Dostoevsky’s debut at the Panayevs’ house had gone fairly well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although at first Dostoevsky’s small gray eyes had nervously darted from one person to another, and his pale lips twitched spasmodically, when he saw Mikhail—especially Mikhail’s encouraging, affirming smile—he finally calmed down and began reading aloud a passage from his novel before the group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Dostoevsky’s work was genuinely strong, everyone present naturally gave him due respect: not only did they applaud warmly, but they also made efforts to ease his shyness, assuring him he was now one of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, it truly was a pleasant gathering for all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, it’s worth noting that in the original history, precisely because his debut had immediately caused a sensation in St. Petersburg, combined with his personality, the once-shy Dostoevsky grew increasingly arrogant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, he got cocky—he began arguing with everyone, openly displaying his writer’s pride and his self-satisfied attitude toward his own talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, he became Writer Dostoevsky who loved showing off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But one must understand: fame means winning many people’s favor and praise, yet inevitably also provokes some people’s displeasure and hostility—even if they have no personal stake, they still resent a sudden newcomer who rises to prominence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under these circumstances, besides his habit of showing off, Dostoevsky’s temper was also unstable; once provoked, he would lose control and say absurd things in the heat of the moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These remarks could easily be remembered by opportunists and later repeated as gossip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turgenev was a classic example of such a troublemaker: though his first meeting with Dostoevsky had been pleasant, whether it was because Dostoevsky showed off too much or because Turgenev’s chronic need to boast and his love of drama kicked in—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>either way, Turgenev often deliberately provoked Dostoevsky into arguments, making him wildly agitated, then watched as he passionately defended the reckless opinions he’d blurted out—some of them absurd—so Turgenev could mock them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After mocking him, he’d go out and brag to everyone: “Hey hey hey, you know that hot new writer Dostoevsky? Let me tell you—he’s just a worthless nobody! Let me tell you what ridiculous things he said…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, Turgenev was truly a troublemaker with a sharp tongue—he got along fine with Dostoevsky, but later, when he ran into Tolstoy, a man with a fiery temper, he nearly got challenged to a duel and shot dead…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Tolstoy had actually served in the military, fought in wars, seen death, and even personally caused many deaths; dealing with Turgenev would’ve been child’s play.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as for now, Dostoevsky hadn’t started showing off yet—he was remarkably humble, even glancing at Mikhail from time to time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turgenev’s bad habits hadn’t flared up yet either; he treated the young newcomer Dostoevsky with his fine artistic sensibility and noble character, even praising him beside Mikhail:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Listen, Mikhail—he writes beautifully! When I first heard they’d found a second Mikhail, I thought they were joking. But now I see it’s true! He might even be better than you—look, I still haven’t read your novel…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail: “……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You better keep this attitude and don’t suddenly relapse, okay?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be fair, though these great writers are famously renowned in literary history, they were also very much real, living people—just too vivid, too alive; it’d be better if they’d boast less and show off less…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail had no good solution, since Turgenev and Dostoevsky were already at that age—their core personalities were set, and no one could easily change them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail could only hope he’d try to mediate later—if he spoke up, they’d probably give him some face, right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But do I really have that much face?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the gathering, Mikhail pondered this question, then rubbed his chin under Dostoevsky’s subtle observation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Probably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s what Mikhail thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If all else fails, he’d first temper Dostoevsky’s arrogance—after all, even if Dostoevsky was a genius, he likely couldn’t match Mikhail’s current publication quality or speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaving those distant concerns aside, this gathering ended peacefully enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After witnessing Dostoevsky’s debut at the gathering, Mikhail turned his attention to the rubles unexpectedly donated by General’s daughter Nadya.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t entirely unacceptable—during this era, wealthy noblewomen funding writers and artists was commonplace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fundamentally, noblewomen of this time held inheritance rights; those from wealthy families often inherited massive fortunes from their fathers. Turgenev’s mother was one such case—she inherited vast numbers of serfs and land from her uncle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To give you an idea of how large that inheritance was: even after splitting it with his brother, Turgenev lived comfortably for the rest of his life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail swore that if he was still poor by then, he’d visit Turgenev daily to beg for handouts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These noblewomen, having inherited great fortunes, had little to spend on beyond daily life—so some wealthy matrons began funding artists to fulfill personal ideals or enhance their cultural influence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Voltaire, Rousseau, Joyce, Gibran—all had eaten off noblewomen’s tables.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail hadn’t eaten much from them yet: first, because this custom wasn’t yet strong in Russia; second, because standing too long made his waist ache.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then again, since General’s daughter Nadya insisted in her latest letter to give, Mikhail could only admit: this soft meal was quite delicious—fragrant, tasty, I love it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Mikhail didn’t take it for free—he promised in his reply that he’d include another poem in this anthology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for what kind of poem Mikhail planned to write, we’ll leave that for later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",906,"2026-06-20T14:41:53.633Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","3716ff295e11b939f8cdf4e89d1c109336103bd60da1769222b5db99d5b564ed","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-75","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-73",105,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-cover.jpg"]