"To my forever friend, Kitahara Kazuka:

I am very happy to receive your letter. I have read the manuscript you sent me, and now I have a lot of ideas, and I don’t know how to talk about it.

But I am certain that "Resurrection" will be one of the greatest Russian novels in the world for hundreds of years. There is no doubt about this, even if you say that you only wrote the first part.

Even if you keep saying that this is a novel in my soul, I actually have not made any contribution to it - this beautiful text came into this world entirely through your hands.

Perhaps there is my shadow in the prototype of Nekhludoff in this article, but sadly, I don’t have the courage he did to force himself to embark on this bloody road.

As for Fei Jia's matter, should it cause you trouble? The relationship between him and me is a bit complicated, so I won't go into details in the letter - but anyway, thank you for the photo, I haven't seen him for a long time

He looks so lively.

In my childhood memories, St. Petersburg was indeed a beautiful place. Unfortunately, the subsequent war almost completely changed it. When I walked there again because of the war, I only saw the red Neva River water and no one.

of streets.

Not long after the war, it turned into a prosperous and beautiful city again... That's right, even in Russia in the north, spring should have arrived.

Sorry, I said a lot of random things. I was a little excited after watching "Resurrection" and I haven't calmed down yet. As for the discussion about the content... let's wait until you finish writing the second part.

As for me to end it... I don't think I can do this, but if this is what you expect, I will try hard. Maybe I should do something instead of wallowing in the sadness of the past.

.

Resurrection is such a beautiful word.

As for the candy store you asked me to recommend to Mr. Pushkin, I have already told him. He seems very happy that you still remember him - you left him without saying goodbye before, which made him uncomfortable. By the way, Miss Elizabeth entrusted me to recommend you to Mr. Pushkin.

You sent some of her new poems. I attached them to the back of the letter. You should be able to see them when you turn back.

Hope you are well in St. Petersburg.

P.S.: If you meet that guy Turgenev, don’t believe his lies! I dare to swear on my several years of military life, as long as he doesn’t use his powers, I will definitely knock his head off last time we met!

your forever friend,

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy

February 19, 2005"

Kitahara and Kaede, who were drinking coffee in Wolfe and Belanger's Candy House, focused their attention on the "Attachment" at the end of the letter, and rubbed their brows helplessly.

What is this, successfully predicting each other's predictions by relying on understanding each other?

With some complicated emotions, the traveler recalled what Turgenev had vowed to him the last time they met, and for a moment he felt speechless and choked.

For example, "If I activate my powers, Tolstoy will definitely be beaten to the point where he doesn't know what to do. I didn't agree to a duel with him just because I didn't want to bully others."; and "Don't worry about that Tolstoy guy.

I can hit ten" or something like that...

If you two can't fight, why are you so concerned about Schrödinger's combat power?

Kitahara and Kaede helplessly took a sip of the steaming coffee in their hands, then put the letter back into the envelope and put it away - regarding Miss Elizabeth's poem, he planned to go back to the hotel and appreciate it slowly. As for now, he still enjoys it.

Cafe.

The traveler turned his head and looked at the scenery on the street corner through the huge glass window. As one of the most beautiful streets in the world, Nevsky Prospekt has an extraordinary status in St. Petersburg. Almost every moment, a large number of people walk by, laughing and laughing.

It even floated into the cafe.

The traces of war on this land seem to have disappeared without a trace, making people feel that this era is a long-term peaceful era.

Human beings may be really tough creatures. No matter what they encounter, they can struggle to get up from the pain of the past and then create new beauty from the ruins.

"But no matter what, it can be considered a very happy thing." Beihara and Feng lowered their eyes, smiled, took a sip of coffee, and murmured.

After all, the bloody battles of so many people are just for the sake of a prosperous and peaceful future.

As for Pushkin... Kitahara and Kaede wiped their faces in embarrassment: Just give him a Wolf and Bellanger Candy House as an apology, and if that doesn't work, just send him some more St. Petersburg specialties.

Speaking of which, he could also take Fyodor to visit this place, although it is called a candy house, but it is actually no different from a cafe: after all, it is not just Pushkin and Dostoev who like to come here three times.

Ji is also one of them.

"But this place didn't close down and turn into a literary cafe for later generations... That's right, the world doesn't have those literary giants from the previous life, so it's understandable that there is no literary cafe."

Kitahara and Kaede stuffed the last piece of cream mousse into their mouths and whispered a few words.

With how similar the two worlds are, only at this time can he feel the confusion of time and space so clearly.

But this difference is not bad, at least this famous dessert shop will not be absent in the world of these "literary heroes" who do not write.

The traveler smiled gently, deftly put the tip under the tray, took the large and small painting tools beside him, got up and left the cafe.

Although I haven't started writing my masterpiece yet, there is no problem in taking a scene from this most beautiful street.

Carrying large and small bags, Kitahara and Kaede walked out of the candy store where they had finally waited for the opening time. They planned to draw something nearby, which could be said to be full of perfunctory and casual attitudes.

However, even with such a simple framing, you can still feel the delicacy and beauty emanating from every detail of this ancient and beautiful street.

The traveler stopped to admire it for a while, then took out the drawing board from the bag, nailed the drawing paper to it, and then took out the paints and various painting tools he brought with him one by one from the bag, and arranged them neatly.

Row.

The oil painting applied layer by layer takes a little longer to dry, so it is better to try the pen with watercolor first.

I just wanted to see how far I have fallen since I haven’t touched painting in a few years.

Kitahara and Kaede looked at the street scene in front of them and simply made a draft with a pencil, which finally determined the specific buildings and pedestrian lines.

Just when he was about to flesh out the details, a cheerful voice sounded that was so familiar that it gave him a headache:

"Mr. Kitahara, are you painting here?"

"It's you, Gogol."

Although he was already complaining in his heart about why Gogol also started to play by chance with Fyodor, on the surface, Kitahara and Kaede continued to revise the rough details of the draft without changing their expressions: "Why didn't I see you today?

With Fyodor?"

Gogol leaned over curiously, intending to take a look at what was on the other party's drawing paper. His voice still sounded very happy: "Fejia has work to do, let me go shopping in St. Petersburg by myself! Speaking of which, this

It’s a really beautiful place – much better than lifeless Moscow!”

I think you are discriminating geographically, but I have no proof.

Kitahara and Kaede skillfully covered the drawing board to avoid each other's observation, and at the same time silently complained in their hearts.

But he didn't take this sentence to heart - after all, from his observation, there didn't seem to be much difference between the people in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

As we all know, most people like to complain about their hometown/alma mater/friends, not to mention Civet, who has always advocated freedom. It is estimated that the longer he stays in Moscow, the more unpleasant he will look at Moscow...

"Then since you're here, you can be a model for my painting." Beiyuan and Feng touched their chins thoughtfully, feeling that they couldn't let the other party mess around here, so they simply turned around and looked at Gogol for a while, and said

.

"No -" Gogol, who didn't see anything, blinked and rejected the proposal very confidently. "When you are a model, you have to stand in one position for a long time. This is too uncomfortable! Mr. Gogol doesn't like it at all.

!”

"There is no need to maintain a posture." Kitahara Kaede, who had anticipated this answer, smiled and tapped the drawing board with a pen, "Just sit on the folding stool in front of me."

Seeing that the other party seemed to want to protest, the traveler quickly sent a killer move before he could speak: "By the way, what do you think of the story "Coat" I told last time?"

Gogol looked at the smiling adult in front of him with some vigilance, feeling that his expression at this time was somewhat similar to the way Fejia used to trick others.

But he didn't refute either.

After all, no matter how unscrupulous he is, the short story with the same name as his superpower can definitely be called a "classic", not to mention, he does have an indescribable fondness for this article.

"If you become a model for me, how about I tell you an equally interesting short story, "Nevsky Prospekt"?"

Beihara and Feng tilted their heads and looked over, showing a sly smile: "Just sit here and listen to the story."

Gogol thought carefully about it.

Although he felt that he was being tricked, it would not be a bad idea if he could sit for a while and listen to an equally classic novel for free - he was indeed quite curious about the content of the story "Nevsky Prospect".

"If you don't answer, I'll take it as a yes!" The traveler smiled and raised the drawing board again, and continued to sketch on it, "I want to think about... how to start this article."

"It takes place in St. Petersburg in the mid-19th century, when it was still the sacred capital of Russia: and the main setting of the story is of course our Nevsky Prospekt."

Kitahara and Kaede gave a brief introduction, and then officially began to tell the story:

"The best place, at least in Petersburg, is Nevsky Prospekt; for Petersburg, Nevsky Prospekt means everything. This street is full of light - it is really the flower of our capital!"

"I know that no matter who the common people or dignitaries living in Petersburg are, they would rather have Nevsky Prospekt than the gold and silver treasures in the world."

Kitahara and Kaede added a few simple decorative lines to the building on the left, then put down the pencil, picked up the watercolor tools on the side, and formally mixed the paint.

What color should be used for the sky in St. Petersburg?

The traveler continued to read the story, but in his heart he felt that he had gradually floated over St. Petersburg and was looking up at the brilliant sun.

A little light blue, and a little gray - just like Tolstoy's glass blue eyes with a little gray.

Finally, add lots and lots of white: those brilliant, pure, pale white sunlight should cover the sky of St. Petersburg, embellishing everything bathed in the sun with divine brilliance.

The color of each building is also pure, and it looks clean. Well, here we use beige, plus a little goose yellow to make it bright and stand out.

Here are pedestrians wearing dark clothes... This place needs some dark blue to suppress the overall too bright tone.

Kitahara and Kaede simply sketched the outline a few times with a thin brush, intending to finally make slight adjustments to the overall shape.
To be continued...