I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 104 Nadya's Fantasy Begins
Without a doubt, Nadezhda Alexandrovna Danilevskaya was one of the earliest subscribers after Mikhail and his team took over "The Contemporary". In fact, no sooner had Mikhail and his team signed a contract with the former owner of "The Contemporary" than this young lady placed an order, and she ordered many copies at once.

Aside from the copy he read himself, the rest were either given to his friends and family who wanted to read them, or donated to schools for free. In short, these brand-new magazines, which contained a lot of meaning, were given to people who might need them, thus supporting Mikhail and his friends without causing any waste.

Incidentally, Nadezhda means "hope" in Russian, and her nickname is Nadya. Alexandrovna indicates that she is the daughter of Alexander, the general, and Danilevskaya is the feminine form of the general's surname.

If she were to marry Mikhail, the first two characters of her name would remain unchanged, but her surname would become Raskolnikova.

When it comes to her name, this young woman has a lot to say.

When they first met, Mikhail was quite passive and hardly said anything. He would only answer her questions seriously. Perhaps because of this way of speaking, Mikhail never called her name throughout the entire banquet.

If she hadn't written to him herself, the young woman strongly suspected that Mikhail might not even know her full name.

She should have known the nickname, since her father had called her "Nadja" once. Perhaps that's why, when the gentleman replied, he unconsciously wrote down the name Nadja. Although he immediately crossed it out and replaced it with Miss Nadezhda Danilevskaya, the sharp-eyed girl undoubtedly still noticed this in those marks.

Just recently, when Nadya was writing a letter, she wrote "Misha" and then lightly crossed it out, replacing it with "Mikhail." It's unclear whether the recipient noticed this.
Speaking of nicknames, the girl felt that she and Mikhail were now good friends, but she couldn't find a suitable opportunity to change how she addressed him. As for hoping that he would take the initiative to change it, Nadya could only say that he had very progressive and bold views on many issues, but for some reason, he was unusually cautious in this regard, unwilling to take even half a step forward, as if he was afraid of being rejected.

But in fact, given his current reputation in cultural circles, many noble ladies and even some wives are very interested in him.

Even some of Nadya's acquaintances said, "If he could recite 'I Love You More Than Nature' with deep affection in front of me, I would be very willing to spend a night with him."

However, based on Nadya's current understanding of Mikhail, she felt that he would most likely just give an awkward smile and then make up some excuse to sneak away.
Although Nadya found it very pleasant to be with such a special person, after all, in the high society of St. Petersburg, it was rare to find someone as sharp-minded, insightful, and truly compassionate as her.

Despite what her father said: "Nadya, in our Russia, a young man who really wants to make something of himself must understand two things. First, he must have a certain background. Second, he must understand that the only people he needs to be responsible for are his superiors and His Majesty the Tsar. He doesn't need to care about anything else. What's the use of caring about those superfluous things?"

If you can't understand these two points, don't expect such a young person to have any future.

Clearly, Mikhail was not the kind of promising young man the general described.

However, in any case, it is always reassuring to be around such a person, and judging from Mikhail's current development, he is not without a future.

However, after thinking it over, the seventeen-year-old girl was still somewhat worried about the other party's overly cautious attitude in a certain aspect.

So much so that on this early morning, as dawn was just breaking, this girl, who had gotten up very early, was dozing off at her desk with her head propped up by her hand, while still thinking about these things.

As she thought about it, she naturally became less sleepy.

In addition, in the few days since I last heard Mikhail's new poetry and the latest issue of the magazine was published, Mikhail's new poem "Do not go gentle into that good night" has naturally spread rapidly in the circle. Such a powerful poem is actually very much to the liking of some old-fashioned nobles in St. Petersburg who have participated in many wars.

After all, for those who had fought on the battlefield, there was nothing more tragic than dying quietly and ignominiously.

Even in old age, one should still burn and roar at dusk!
The general naturally admired the poem greatly, but also remarked with regret, "Even His Majesty the Tsar, who has absolutely no interest in poetry, might be moved by this poem. You must know that even the once-famous Pushkin and Lermontov couldn't achieve this!"

However, this is only a possibility. If things go as I suggested, the possibility is certainly much greater. In my opinion, some content in the poem must be made clearer. For example, the very first line could directly express the sentiment: "Great Tsar, my eternal sun!"

To be honest, Nadja also felt that her father was talking nonsense. First of all, the emperor was not yet old, so it was risky to present such a poem to the emperor. Secondly, although her father was very interested in literature and art, he really did not have any literary cultivation. If her father's opinion was followed, the poem would most likely be completely distorted.

However, it is true that many important people have the habit of pointing fingers at everything. Nadya listened and that was it; at most, she would talk about these things with Mikhail.

Among those who love this poem, there is one person who makes Nadya both happy and surprised: her grandfather, who is in some ways even more old-fashioned than her father. As a veteran who participated in the Russo-French War of 1812 and achieved considerable military exploits, his existence is the foundation of the Danilevsky family's current power and status.

Despite being completely devoid of artistic talent, the poem seemed to have a good effect on him. He recited the poem several times over several days and began to reminisce about his glorious past.

Although Nadya had heard these things countless times when she was young, she still recounts them now, since writers need a lot of material, right?

Mikhail seems to be very interested in these materials, and with them, there are probably many more letters to write; it's just a matter of whether there will ever be a day when he stops.

The seventeen-year-old girl pondered these things for a long time. Finally, the maid knocked on her door, and a moment later, the latest issue of *Modern Man* appeared in her hands. Perhaps because of the enthusiastic response to the previous serialized novel, or perhaps because the author had genuinely noticed the readers' eager inquiries, the novel was indeed considerably longer than the previous issue.

This action would undoubtedly bring smiles to the faces of many readers of long novels. Even the proud sixteen-year-old nobleman in Moscow showed a rare expression of joy and nodded with satisfaction.

As for Nadya, she was more concerned about whether releasing so much at once would put a lot of pressure on Mikhail, causing him to bury himself in work and have little time for himself. Besides that, she was also looking forward to the content to come.

The last story left two unresolved mysteries: one was an old man who died suddenly with unknown origins, and the other was an honest and kind steward who was unjustly accused and, in a fit of anger, prepared to go to the city to sue a duke.

This part picks up where the previous part left off:
"And so, the Ikhmenev family moved to St. Petersburg. I won't describe my long-awaited reunion with Natasha. During those four years, I never forgot her. Of course, whenever I thought of her, I wasn't entirely sure of my own feelings at the time."

At this point, the young woman might easily lose focus, because it seems that "I" actually harbors romantic feelings for Natasha, with whom I grew up, and the "I" in the text inevitably carries a touch of autobiography:
"It was at this time, shortly before their arrival, that I finished my first novel, which was also the short story that marked the beginning of my literary career."

I became famous overnight in St. Petersburg because of some short stories I wrote. Even though my adoptive father, Ikhmenev, wondered: "Writer, poet! It's really puzzling... When did writing poetry become a profession, an official title? These people can only write and draw randomly, they can't be relied on!"

But ultimately, because of the overwhelming praise, "I" was treated differently, to the point that even Natasha's mother noticed the unusual relationship between "me" and her daughter, to the point that she began to worry:
"She suddenly became frightened upon seeing this: I am not, after all, an earl, a duke, or a prince with great power, or even, to put it another way, a young and dashing sixth-rank civil servant with a chest full of medals and a law school graduate! Anna Andreyeguna disliked the fact that her hopes could only be half fulfilled."

"Everyone praises him," she pondered, "but what do they praise him for—I don't know. A writer, a poet…but who exactly is this writer?"

While Nadya found this reaction amusing, she also internally refuted it: a writer, a poet, especially one like Mikhail, is someone even a count or duke couldn't buy! As for a young, dashing, medal-laden sixth-rank civil servant who graduated from law school, Nadya felt he had a chance.

After all, Mikhail's studies are not yet complete, and given his intelligence and the considerable influence his family wields in certain sectors, if that's the case...
As she pondered, Nadya suddenly began to daydream as well.
After daydreaming for a while, Nadya continued watching.

Because of my achievements in literature, I feel like I'm reaping both love and career success. My family is joking around during this happy time, talking about our plans for the future. This harmonious scene makes you smile.

While Nadya was happy about the story, she also thought about other things. After all, this "I" really had a lot of Mikhail's traits, to the point that Nadya began to wonder if Mikhail really had some kind of relationship with a girl he grew up with. But after carefully thinking about the information she had gathered, this quick-thinking girl finally calmed down and read the rest of the story.

She had thought it would be a beautiful story that would last forever, but just one year later, everything changed:
"It's because this year feels like I've endured ten years, and so has my Natasha. A chasm has formed between us..."

at the same time:

"They were very worried at the time because the lawsuit with Prince Valkovsky was now turning against them. About five months ago, the young prince actually found an opportunity to visit Ikhmenev. The old man had always been very fond of his precious Alyosha, treating him like his own son, and had been talking about him almost every day recently."

His arrival was met with great joy by the old man's family. From then on, Alyosha began to visit them frequently, without his father's knowledge, and the visits became increasingly frequent.

It was clear that the lawsuit was deteriorating, and the deterioration of "my" feelings seemed to be related to the young duke. The main reason for this lawsuit was that when the duke placed his son in the care of his foster father, rumors spread that his son was having an affair with the housekeeper's daughter.

The Duke, who was eager to climb the social ladder, could not accept this and gradually began to believe other rumors, thinking that the steward had stolen his property.

When Nadya thought things couldn't get any worse, in the oppressive atmosphere, the protagonist Natasha's choice surprised her. During this time, Natasha did have a relationship with the Duke's son, but because of the relationship between the two families, she seemed to have no choice but to choose one side.

Faced with this situation, coupled with the Duke's son's promise and the appearance of another wealthy young lady, Natasha made a choice:

“Natasha, do you understand? You will kill your father! Have you thought this through? You know, his father is your father's enemy. You know, the Duke insulted your father and suspected him of stealing money; you know, he once called him a thief. You know, they are in court.”
That's nothing! That's secondary, you know, Natasha… (Oh God, you know all this!) You know the Duke also suspects that your father and mother deliberately sent you to get close to Alyosha while he was visiting your country. Just think about it, just think about how upset and painful it must have been for your father to be slandered like that.”

Natasha seemed to be fully aware of all of this, but she ultimately made this choice amidst her pain.

This is, of course, mixed with many complex meanings: blindness to love, the duke's son's weakness and deception in another sense, and a special psychological state in which the more painful the experience, the more one can feel love.
Is this a doctrinal attitude towards love? Or does it reveal a unique and profound psychological state, where one can vaguely sense this unknown emotion within Russian society?

And the final sentence: "That's my whole story of happiness; my love story ends here. Now I'll continue the story that was interrupted earlier."

This made Nadya think about Mikhail's attitude towards love. It seemed somewhat gloomy. Should she ask him directly, or try to find out indirectly?
In short, the novel's development and the peculiar psychological state were so impactful that they almost left the seventeen-year-old girl somewhat disoriented.

While I was surprised, I couldn't help but want to see what happened next.

Of course, the most important thing is to ask some questions.
(End of this chapter)