I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 314 Waltz in the Snow
The Mahe district is located between the Pompidou Centre and Place de la Bastille.

In 1605, Henry IV built the Place des Vosges here, which is one of the oldest squares in Paris.

In 1643, Louis XIII built the Picardy Hotel here, which later became a Paris museum…

In 1789, the French Revolution broke out.

Many nobles and wealthy merchants were persecuted, which led to the gradual decline of the Mahai district.

In the 19th century, it became a gathering place for the working class and immigrants, and in the 20th century it became a residence for artists and intellectuals.

In 1980, this place became the center of TXL rights activities.

However, in the 1990s, with the development of the Mahai District, the TXL Activity Center moved out of here and gradually returned to normal.

It's meaningful, isn't it?
Liu Jin glanced at Chloe.

Chloe, however, did not notice.

A middle-aged man in a suit and tie stood at the street corner.

In such cold weather, he looked quite disheveled, with glistening icicles clinging to his sparse hair.

Upon seeing Chloe and Liu Jin, he quickly approached them.

“Miss Chloe, I am Bruno. We have met before.”

“I remember, this is…”

"Liu Jin!"

Chloe instinctively wanted to call Liu Jin by his pen name, but Liu Jin stopped her.

Bruno, in English, is Bruno.

It's just a difference in pronunciation.

"Hello, are you Chinese?"

"Yes!"

This guy has good judgment; he didn't say Liu Jin was a nobody.

"Let's go look at houses."

Bruno and Liu Jin exchanged a few pleasantries before getting straight to the point.

Don't say he had a bad attitude. In this cold weather, he looked very dignified in his suit and tie, but he was actually freezing like a grandson.

Even Liu Jin couldn't stand it.

Liu Jin and Chloe both readily agreed.

The three of them then walked along the street.

This is not a suitable place to drive.

The road was narrow, and as Chloe had described earlier, the streetlights on both sides were in the style of the 18th century.

Snowflakes fluttered down, the lights shone dimly, and the streets were wet.

In an instant, it felt as if I had stepped into the 18th century.

The buildings on both sides are mostly two or three stories high.

In fact, there are very few high-rise buildings in the entire Mahai District.

Walking out of the small street, you'll find a small square, with another small street on one side and a 300-meter-long staircase on the other.

At the street corner, there was a small tavern with its lights on.

It felt very quiet.

Looking up the steps, there is a three-story building with mottled exterior walls, giving it a sense of vicissitude.

Behind that building were towering skyscrapers.

It was especially impactful on a snowy night.

I love it here!

Liu Jin couldn't help but say.

Chloe smiled and replied, "I bet you'll like it."

"That's the house."

Bruno pointed to the building on the steps and said, "This house used to belong to a writer, but he offended another writer and couldn't write any more books, so he had to go back to his hometown, and the bank took the house away."

"Author? What's their name?"

Chloe asked curiously.

"Now that you ask, I really can't remember."

It seems he wrote a wildly popular bestseller a few years ago... Last year, I think it was last year, he started a feud with another writer on TV, but the other writer countered him, and his book didn't sell well, and he couldn't write a new one.

This year, he went back to his hometown. Apparently, he couldn't even pay off his loan, and the bank foreclosed on his house.

Liu Jin's eye twitched.

That sounds familiar!
Before he could even ask, Chloe blurted out, "Michel, Michel Uelbek?"

"Yes, it's Michelle. I don't quite remember her last name."

I remember reading one of his books before, *Elementary Particles*, yes, that's the name.

So, is Michelle bankrupt?
Liu Jin was a little surprised.

Turning her head, Chloe saw a half-smile on her face.

She pointed at him, as if to say: It's all because of you!

Liu Jin smiled helplessly.

How can you blame him?
It was Michelle who started the fight, but it turned out to be so easily defeated.

It was already incredibly vulnerable, but it actually went bankrupt?
Please, it's just writing a book, there's no need to make it so dramatic.

"I really don't know."

“When I visited Ms. Irene with Mela before, she told me that… Mr. Michel was preparing to start a new book because ‘Platform’ was not selling well. But… he never finished writing it, as if he had lost the ability to write.”

Amos, it must have been you who used Eastern magic, right?

"Nonsense!"

Liu Jin laughed and cursed, then fell silent.

On one side of the steps is a three-story building, but it doesn't look like an apartment; it looks more like an office space.

"There used to be many galleries and sculpture studios here. In the 1970s, the artistic atmosphere here was very strong... But now many of them have moved away and been turned into cafes and restaurants."

The coffee here is excellent, and their craft beer is even better than German beer.

"Bruno, are you from around here?"

"Yes, I live on the next street."

He pointed to the small street below the steps.

"At the end of the road, there is a two-story yellow building, that's my home."

"That's great, we can settle down here."

“It’s my father’s estate, I can’t afford a house here… Someone offered 20 million francs for my little house. But I feel that it’s where I was born and raised, it’s my father’s estate, and I can’t sell it.”

"You are such a good person."

"Thank you!"

I like this era.

A good person is still a good person; there aren't so many complicated meanings involved.

The three of them climbed the steps and arrived at the foot of the building.

The building has three floors, with shops on the ground floor facing the street.

Enter through a narrow alley, pass through a wooden door, then through a ten-meter-long, dark passageway, and into a small courtyard.

Bruno went up the stairs to the second floor and stopped at the door.

"The second and third floors here are connected as one unit, but they are also separate units."

He took out his key and opened the door.

"This yard below is a private space. You see that fish tank and that shelf? Those were put up by Mr. Michel. On sunny days, the yard is very well lit. Mr. Michel says he likes to read under the grape trellis the most."

After saying that, he led Liu Jin and Chloe into the house.

France doesn't have a shared area system, and I don't know who invented this damn system.

The second floor is about 90 square meters, and there is a staircase that leads to the third floor.

"Downstairs is the living room, kitchen, dining room, and storage room, and there are two bathrooms."

Upstairs there are three rooms. The master bedroom balcony faces the road we came from, and you can see the square below the steps...

The sun was shining brightly, and the view was expansive.

The second bedroom offers a view of the Pompidou Centre.

Oh, by the way, there's a tea house called Mariage Frères Marais on our way here.

Chloe showed a look of disgust.

"Don't even mention it, I can't imagine that Earl Grey tea would be sold in a French neighborhood."

Liu Jin couldn't help laughing.

This damn French sense of honor.

Earl Grey tea is an English tea.

Indeed, in a neighborhood full of French cafes, an English tea room selling Earl Grey tea seems out of place.

"But it's been open for forty years, hasn't it?"

Liu Jin's eyes lit up.

"That's something we can give it a try."

A tea room that has been selling English tea in a purely French neighborhood in Paris for forty years, and has even been recommended by real estate agents, must have something extraordinary about it. Liu Jin wasn't actually that averse to English tea.

This house feels nice.

Liu Jin stood in front of the living room's floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the scenery outside.

It was very quiet, and the community gave off a very warm and comfortable feeling in the snowy night.

"This is it."

"Decided?"

"Ok!"

Chloe laughed and said, "Then I'll find someone to handle the next steps."

Please send me copies of your passport and residence permit later, along with a power of attorney, so I can handle the rest.

"it is good!"

Liu Jin nodded.

Bruno was also very happy; with the house sold, his bonus this year would surely be very substantial.

If it weren't for the bonus, he wouldn't have waited in the freezing cold for twenty minutes.

Surprisingly, this Chinese man was quite decisive!
……

After leaving the courtyard, I came out into the alley.

Bruno and Chloe said goodbye to Liu Jin.

Chloe told him that someone would contact him later to make arrangements.

This made him realize that the Chinese man in front of him was probably no ordinary person either.

Liu Jin and Chloe walked down the steps.

The steps were a bit slippery, so Liu Jin held onto Chloe's arm.

Chloe, let's dance.

The snow has gotten heavier.

Snowflakes are flying.

Under the dim streetlights, Liu Jin suddenly smiled and said, "Waltz, no problem, right?"

"Hehe, I'm the waltz queen at the high school prom."

As she spoke, she reached out and placed her hand on Liu Jin's arm.

The two danced a waltz in the swirling snow as they descended the slippery steps.

Liu Jin's mood instantly soared...

(End of this chapter)