Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 50 Mysterious Visitor (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Maupassant stood up from the sofa and paced around the living room, saying, "...Yes, that was Lionel's personality all along, but—he met me!"

When Zola, Flaubert, and others heard this, they all looked at him with disbelief.

Although they all admired the talented young man, they were also well aware of his character, so it was unlikely that Maupassant could have any positive influence on Lionel Sorel.

He should be thankful he didn't take Lionel to brothel all over Paris.

Maupassant coughed somewhat awkwardly and casually began to explain: "I once told him my teacher's famous saying—'The most glorious day of one's life is not the day of achieving fame and success, but the day when one rises from sorrow and despair to bravely face life's challenges and stride forward with unwavering will.'"

It was this sentence that helped him overcome the inferiority complex stemming from his impoverished background, enabling him to challenge life's difficulties and embrace a new day through his creative work.

Maupassant glanced at Flaubert and, seeing that his teacher's expression had relaxed slightly, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But Maupassant's impetuous nature spurred him to continue: "I also quoted Zola's famous saying to him—'The only happiness in life is to keep moving forward.'"

Lionel realized that mere cynicism would only bring one to a standstill; only by turning the small moments of life into poetry, like Zola, could one find happiness in the journey ahead.

Although Zola was somewhat skeptical, he nodded slightly in agreement.

Maupassant became even more excited and turned to Turgenev: "Mr. Turgenev, Lionel also greatly admires you..."

Turgenev quickly interrupted: "Alright, I'm not so sure what you said to him about me—I'm more interested in how Lionel Sorel is doing lately? Is he still in such dire straits?"

Maupassant blushed. In fact, he had never seen Lionel again after inviting him to a communal dinner. Every episode of the "Leonard in Poverty" short play that followed was the result of his improvisation.

He had told himself countless times, "I can't talk about Lionel at this salon!"

But for some reason, the salon owners, especially the lonely noblewomen, were particularly fond of hearing this story of "the poor boy's rise to power."

So he had to turn his short stories into serials, and he had to constantly lay the groundwork, foreshadowing, twists, climaxes, and epilogues... He used all the skills that Flaubert had taught him.

He also occasionally draws inspiration from "side stories" he hears from other salons...

He usually ends like this: "This is my little friend Lionel, poor but honest, hot-tempered but learned, rude but eloquent. Please forgive me for bringing such a rude story in such an elegant setting. I will certainly give him some advice!"

Then the ladies would cover their smiles with their fans and, in a slightly intoxicated voice, instruct: "Guy, no... just let Lionel remain true to himself."

Good heavens, 'poor Lionel,' 'rude Lionel,' 'temperamental Lionel'... Are there really such poor boys in Paris?!

Maupassant was consumed by jealousy and wanted to yell at them, "I can be rude too! I can be irritable too!"

However, Maupassant did not come away empty-handed – it was because of his brilliant storytelling that he received sponsorship, which allowed his play "Old Tales" to be performed at the "Ballande Theatre".

Although the response was lukewarm, it was still a successful start.

"Guy, what's wrong?" Turgenev asked, noticing Maupassant's silence. "Haven't you seen Lionel recently?"

Maupassant snapped out of his reverie and quickly tried to salvage the situation: "Lionel has been engrossed in his writing lately, and I haven't actually seen him. But he... he should still be living in the 11th arrondissement, I think... I think it's on Obercamp Street."

Yes, it's Obercamp Street!

Upon hearing this, Turgenev turned to Zola and Flaubert: "Mr. Zola, Mr. Flaubert, I think we should invite this 'poor Lionel' to our salon. Aren't you curious about what kind of person this young man is?"

Upon hearing this, Zola first took a sip of red wine, then stood up from the sofa, walked to the desk, picked up the "Sorbonne Academy Bulletin" on the table, and facing the top was the "Old Guard" which occupied the entire page.

Zola read very slowly, and he had a habit of taking notes as he read, so the edges of the newspaper and the gaps between the lines were marked with his pencil marks.

He quickly skimmed through the novel before exclaiming with emotion, "What a remarkable pathological slide! This young man saw the ills of society with a microscope, but he didn't—or perhaps he simply didn't want to—prescribe a remedy."

And this calmness itself is the most severe indictment!

He then turned to Flaubert: "We must meet him; his methods deserve serious consideration from a 'naturalist' perspective!"

Flaubert nodded: "Lionel Sorel... his vision is too sharp, and his heart too hard—but isn't that exactly the quality a good writer must have?"

I agree. This piece, "The Old Guard," is enough to prove that he is one of our kind!

At this point, Flaubert turned to Maupassant: "Guy, go and invite him to my house this Sunday."

Maupassant reluctantly agreed, "Yes, teacher! I'll go see Lionel tomorrow!"

Alphonse Daudet, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly laughed: "Guy, you've found yourself a good 'opponent'!"

Looking into Daudet's all-knowing eyes, Maupassant felt inexplicably anxious.

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Despite being at the center of the storm, Lionel's life was more peaceful than one might imagine.

Due to the class segregation of this era and the lag in media information, the tide brought by "The Old Guard" could not immediately reach his beach.

The congratulations from his classmates were the biggest response he had received in the past two days.

Lionel now has a more pressing task: to hand over the first part of "Decadent City," "Temptation and Ascent," to Gabriel, whose final part happens to be "Helena's Drunkenness on the Grape Trellise."

Compared to the original novel "Jin Ping Mei", the plot progresses faster. After all, many highly Sinicized and difficult-to-modify plots have been omitted by Lionel. He did not intend to make this book a famous French novel of manners.

Gabriel also lacked the patience to wait for him to slowly polish the words.

The only thing Lionel regretted was that he didn't have the time or the ability to hire someone to transcribe the manuscript—although he found Alice a transcription job, he certainly couldn't give her "Decadent City".

At the post office on St. Martin's Avenue, he packed up the thick manuscript, filled in the address, requested the post office's most expensive "same-day delivery" service, and paid a full 10 sous for postage.

After leaving the post office, I took a horse-drawn carriage to school.

To his surprise, as soon as he got off the bus, he saw a magnificent carriage parked at the entrance of the Sorbonne. The usual noisy scene was gone, and the carriages of other students and professors were parked far away.

Then the Sorbonne's gates were opened wide, allowing the carriage to drive right into the campus.

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(End of this chapter)