I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 106 Dance and Duel (Part 1)
It must be said that the editorial department of Modern People magazine is a team of young people. After all, there are some things that only young people can do most of the time, such as giving up a stable job to participate in the construction of a new magazine, and in the process of building this new magazine, unconsciously shifting towards social criticism.

There will be a future, and the iron fist may fall, but that does not stop them from actively dedicating themselves to this cause.

It is worth mentioning that many of these editors were influenced by Belinsky's critical articles, both by his critical spirit and by the fact that...

"The ability to criticize is a rare and therefore highly valued talent... It is a grave mistake to think that criticism is an easy profession, something everyone can do to some extent. Profound feeling, a passionate love of art, rigorous and multifaceted research, and intellectual objectivity—these are the sources of a fair and impartial attitude—the ability to remain unswayed by external temptations."

On the other hand, how noble was the responsibility he bore! People are accustomed to and unsurprised by the mistakes of defendants; yet, the mistakes of judges are doubly condemned and ridiculed.

Influenced by his writing style, some of them had mentioned to Mikhail more than once that they greatly admired Belinsky's commentaries on Mikhail's work, and that they could fully feel Mikhail's noble spirit and undisguised fighting spirit in those commentaries.

In short, although Mikhail was a young man like them, the young people in the editorial team greatly admired him. Therefore, even though the versions of the story of Mikhail writing poetry were becoming increasingly outrageous, many of them still chose to believe it.

Of course, there were also many who didn't believe it. They came up and said, "Dear Mr. Mikhail, we have all heard about your poetry. To be honest, it's really unbelievable. We even doubt that it's true! If possible, could you please write another poem on the spot? We all really like your poetry."

Mikhail: “?”

The real purpose is revealed, right?
It was one thing to write it on the spot, but Mikhail spent a long time explaining to them the four ways of writing poetry and the normal rules of artistic creation.
Faced with Mikhail's claims, some people nodded in agreement, but there were always a few who remained skeptical. After all, strictly speaking, some of them had already wanted to systematically organize Mikhail's works.

It's clear that Mikhail's series of works share a consistent tone, but each piece is of an astonishingly high standard. So much so that when Mikhail publishes a collection or complete works in the future, it's likely that one won't be able to put any of them down, and if one does, it will raise questions about the editor's competence.

If this trend continues, the complete works of Mr. Mikhail will probably be so thick they could kill someone.

In any case, although there was not much work for Mikhail to do, his arrival immediately boosted the atmosphere in the magazine office, and even the staff seemed to work with more enthusiasm.

Since he was already there, Mikhail naturally sat in the office for a while and read some reader letters. However, after reading some, for the sake of his mental health, Mikhail left the magazine office after a short time and headed to his friend's house to continue practicing a skill he had been learning recently.

Speaking of this, we must mention the young lady's invitation to the banquet. This time, it was held at the general's house. However, compared to the previous banquets, this one was more like a dance party.

The word "ball" originated in Europe, first appearing in 15th-century Germany. In ancient Germany, there was a custom where, roughly during Easter, village girls would sing songs to visit friends who had married in the past year and bring small gifts. In return, young married women had to host a banquet or ball to entertain all the young men in the village, and they would pay for musicians to accompany them.

Later, any party that included dancing was called a ball, and it gradually became a favorite among European nobles at banquets.

In Russia, however, no similar ball events existed before the end of the 17th century. It wasn't until the rise of Peter the Great, who advocated for comprehensive learning from the West, that balls began to be held in 1700.

It was also from this period that dance gradually became a compulsory subject in all higher, secondary, and foreign boarding schools, and was also studied in Tsarist noble schools and ordinary technical schools.

In this process, Russians demonstrated an astonishing talent for dance, not only possessing a deep understanding of various dance styles but also performing them with grace. This led some dance school teachers abroad to unconsciously emulate the Russian teaching methods.

In this field, Russia truly triumphed. In the 19th century, as time went on, St. Petersburg and Moscow gradually became the most famous centers of dance art in Europe.

Thinking about it carefully, Mikhail seems to have studied it before, but that was a long time ago. In addition, Mikhail didn't like to participate in various activities during his university years, so he had basically forgotten it.

So here's the problem: if someone at the ball wants to dance with Mikhail and he really can't refuse, he can't exactly play a game of stepping on their feet, can he?
In high society circles, going to dance without knowing the dance steps, being overly intimate with a female partner, forgetting to find a partner you've already invited before dancing, or stepping on the back of a female partner's skirt can all have negative consequences.

In addition, inaccurate dance moves and unattractive dance postures can expose a dancer's humble origins, while young people who can dance flexibly and gracefully are considered well-mannered in high society, which to some extent is indeed beneficial to their future development.

Mikhail didn't care about this, and he could eat and drink all he wanted at the ball, but if something unexpected happened, it would be best to avoid embarrassing himself. Then another problem arose: dance instructors were expensive, and with time and a heavy workload, Mikhail didn't have any connections to hire one if he suddenly wanted to.

So Mikhail mentioned this to his friends, asking how they could cram in a bit, at least to become relatively proficient so as not to step on others' mistakes.

As soon as he finished speaking to his friends, Turgenev shook his head and said, "Mikhail, time is too tight. If you ask me, the best way is to dance with a few more ladies. There are quite a few people in St. Petersburg who want to dance with you, but you never have time."

After shaking his head, Turgenev began to try to think of a solution, while the young Dostoevsky's eyes lit up immediately after hearing Mikhail's words. However, he waited for Turgenev to finish speaking before hesitantly speaking:

"To be honest, there's not much of a solution. I'm actually quite good at this kind of thing."

Mikhail: “?”

Could it be that.
As mentioned before, Dostoevsky did not neglect himself at all when he was in college. He must have been a frequent attendee at balls, and his mazurka dancing was exceptional. Meanwhile, Turgenev was very experienced, and Nekrasov was not too bad either. Although he had endured a few years of hardship, he was still of noble birth and had certainly learned everything he needed to.

Thinking about it this way, Mikhail couldn't help but look at his friends.

Upon sensing his gaze, Old Dostoevsky was somewhat excited, Nekrasov was a little helpless, and Turgenev's face was filled with question marks.

I, Turgenev, have been mingling in high society for so long, dancing with countless girls since I was a child. Dancing with a man? Not even a dog.
"Mikhail, you stepped on my foot!"

After leaving the magazine, Mikhail soon arrived at Turgenev's house. Because he was planning to travel abroad recently, Turgenev hadn't been socializing much these days, spending most of his time handling formalities, packing things at home, and teaching the newly arrived Mikhail a lesson.

Although Mikhail was progressing quite quickly, it was still a bit strange for two men to be dancing together. Occasionally, when they made eye contact, Mikhail would lose his composure and accidentally step on Turgenev's shoe.

Honestly, Turgenev would have firmly rejected any other person, but this person was Mikhail, and Mikhail had just given him a novel written in French.
In fact, Turgenev rarely admitted from the bottom of his heart that someone was a genius, and most of the time it was the norm for writers to belittle each other. But in St. Petersburg today, very few people would dare to say that Mikhail was not a genius.

For Turgenev, Mikhail's image continued to rise in his mind, to the point that he eventually agreed to this absurd task.

To be honest, although it wasn't the first time he had seen Mikhail up close, Turgenev couldn't help but marvel at how popular Mikhail would be at the ball. Apart from his somewhat problematic background, he was perfect in every way, and he even learned to dance very quickly, showing no signs of having only recently started practicing.

Soon, feeling he had done enough, Mikhail patted his behind and left. It's true that this kind of thing gets harder and harder to maintain the tension the more you practice, and unfortunately, Mikhail didn't have any female friends.

Fortunately, he has some muscle memory, and Mikhail's hands and feet are quite coordinated, so he doesn't need to spend too much time on it. Otherwise, Mikhail would have found it increasingly difficult to maintain his form the more he trained.

It was especially difficult to keep up with Old Dostoevsky. Although Mikhail had gradually gotten used to the enthusiasm and frankness of some of his Russian friends, he still couldn't help but laugh when he had to.

This time, when Mikhail took some time to visit Old Do, who happened to be free, he asked Old Do if he wanted to go with him.

Upon hearing this suggestion, Old Turk couldn't help but glance at Mikhail's handsome face and beautiful black eyes again, then decisively shook his head and said, "I'm not going!"

Although he was indeed a very good dancer and quite interested in such balls, he decided against going with someone like Mikhail.

And so, in the days that followed, Mikhail continued to practice in his spare time, and before he knew it, the day of the banquet was drawing ever closer.
(End of this chapter)