# New File
Maybe it was because he saw Feng Yan's sincerity, or perhaps because Feng Yan stubbornly kept up his half-ridiculous attitude, but the young man agreed to let Feng Yan treat him to lunch.
The two of them drove off in Feng Yan's old car. They didn't chat along the way. However, with Feng Yan's powers of observation, he could tell that this young man didn't seem to like crowds. So, after they arrived at a seafood restaurant, Feng Yan booked a private room for them.
The restaurant looked quite luxurious and spacious. Normally, he wouldn't spend money eating somewhere like this because the prices were rather steep for Feng Yan's lifestyle. But since his uncle's membership card happened to be in his possession, there was no way he was going to let it go to waste.
He only sent his uncle a text asking for permission: Uncle, I'm using your membership card at XX Restaurant to eat because my novel salary hasn't been paid this month.
Feng Yan sent the text, then put his phone away with satisfaction. He picked up the menu and asked the young man to order.
The young man refused to take the menu from Feng Yan's hand. “Order whatever you want.”
Feng Yan raised an eyebrow. “Anything? Don't you have any dietary restrictions?”
The man nodded. “I just don't drink alcohol.”
Feng Yan, who had already been planning to order an expensive bottle of wine, fell silent for a moment, slightly awkward. “Oh… Okay.”
Since the man didn't want to drink, Feng Yan wouldn't drink either. Besides, he had driven there. If Feng Yan insisted on drinking, could he really ask the man to drive them back later? That sounded rather rude.
In the end, he ordered several seafood dishes and fresh juice.
Feng Yan began introducing himself with a bright smile. “My name is Feng Yan. You can call me Xiao Feng or Xiao Yan. What about you?”
The young man looked at Feng Yan with a pair of cold, dark eyes. His voice was as steady as before when he replied, “My name is Zheng Yixuan.”
“Oh, that's a nice name. By the way, both our given names sound pretty common. When I was in school, there were at least a dozen people with the same given name. You could say it's overly common, considering how many people use it.” Feng Yan began spouting nonsense.
A pot of tea had already been placed on their table. Feng Yan poured two cups. As he handed a cup of tea to Zheng Yixuan, he said solemnly,
“Thank you so much, bro. If it weren't for you, I'd be dead by now.”
Zheng Yixuan nodded and accepted the cup from Feng Yan. The cold tips of his fingers brushed against Feng Yan's warm ones. “It's nothing.”
Feng Yan paid little attention to the brief touch because he wanted to get his other question out right away.
“But how did you know I was in trouble? And how did you know the combination to my lock? Do you have some kind of special ability?” Feng Yan asked, overflowing with curiosity.
“It only took two or three minutes from when I started choking until I nearly passed out. We've been neighbors for more than a year, and you'd never shown up before. So why did you suddenly appear when something happened to me?” Feng Yan continued asking without realizing how accusatory his words sounded.
Zheng Yixuan seemed to have anticipated that Feng Yan would ask this question. He drank the tea Feng Yan had given him and said, “I heard it.”
“Huh?” Feng Yan was stunned for a moment. “Um, sorry, I don't understand. What do you mean, you heard it?”
Zheng Yixuan asked in return, “Did you know the soundproofing in that building is terrible?”
Though rather confused, Feng Yan nodded.
“Yeah, I know a little about it because I'm in the community group. People on the floors above and below each other often argue over noise. The worst case involved a whole series of complaints. They complained five times and even called the police, only to find out that the sound wasn't coming from the floor above, but from two floors below, traveling through the pipes.” Feng Yan laughed.
It was true. There were too many complaints because the quality of housing nowadays wasn't as good as it used to be. The floor slabs were too thin. If soundproofing wasn't done properly during renovations, the sounds of everyday life from the floors above and below could be heard. What if a noisy seven- or eight-year-old lived upstairs? The noise would become an everyday meal.
Back then, when Feng Yan was merely a silent observer in the group, he had secretly felt grateful that he didn't have a neighbor in the building where he lived.
He himself was a fairly noisy person. Feng Yan often made noise when dragging his stool around, and he also shouted and sang strangely while showering.
But Zheng Yixuan's sudden reminder left him speechless. His laughter vanished the moment he realized that Zheng Yixuan's words seemed inexplicable on the surface, yet actually carried a deeper meaning.
After all, someone living alone could easily do whatever they wanted. Feng Yan was no different, letting himself go and behaving outrageously.
Oh no… All this time, I had no idea there was a neighbor next door, and the building wasn't properly soundproofed. I've been making so much noise without realizing it! Haven't I been seriously disturbing my neighbor?
Trying to suppress his embarrassment, he asked, “Can I ask how bad the soundproofing is?”
Zheng Yixuan said casually, “I heard you talking before you ate that egg. ‘That egg shouldn't be able to choke me to death.’”
“Huh?” Feng Yan was confused once again.
“But I didn't say it loudly. That was just my normal speaking volume. I should've actually spoken a little more quietly. If you could hear that, then what's the difference between having a wall between us and not having one?”
Feng Yan immediately began reflecting on how he had lived over the past year.
He was a freelance writer with no fixed schedule. He preferred staying home all day and only went out every few days to take out the trash. He worked mostly in the middle of the night and then slept until ten in the morning. He also ordered takeout three times a day, which was incredibly unhealthy, on top of other chaotic routines, such as doing laundry in the middle of the night.
If all that could still be considered normal, then the other things had truly made Feng Yan lose face.
For Feng Yan, day and night were essentially reversed. He used a clacking mechanical keyboard in the middle of the night and shouted excitedly whenever he reached a climax, occasionally letting foul language slip from his mouth.
Sometimes, Feng Yan would study his characters' dialogue from his novel, talk to himself, and put on little theatrical performances.
When he still lived with his parents, his mother had always thought her son had gone crazy because he stayed inside for too long. She had never seen anyone talk to himself constantly the way Feng Yan did. She also hated the way Feng Yan typed, especially when he played games in the middle of the night. His mother had said, “You're louder than a hundred ducks,” and kicked him out of the house.
As he recalled all the noise he'd made, Feng Yan's face grew hot with embarrassment.
He looked at Zheng Yixuan, and Zheng Yixuan looked back at him.
That uncomfortable gaze again. Feng Yan felt a little desperate and asked another question, hoping reality wasn't quite so embarrassing and that he was merely overthinking things.
“Hey, bro, are you usually not home at night?”
If he worked the night shift, then he would sleep during the day, and I wouldn't have bothered him so much. It's not like I have any bad habits, such as talking in my sleep or grinding my teeth, Feng Yan thought.
Zheng Yixuan calmly looked at the person across from him, as if Feng Yan—not him—had been the one bothered over the past year. His emotional stability made Feng Yan's heart tingle.
“I’m home every day,” he said.
Feng Yan's eyes widened. “You don't go to work?”
Zheng Yixuan shook his head. “I'm sick.”
The man's answer made Feng Yan blink several times. Guilt began rising in his heart. “Sorry, I didn't know. What kind of illness is it?”
Once the words left his lips, Feng Yan somewhat hated himself for asking so many questions, though he was also curious deep down.
Fortunately, Zheng Yixuan didn't seem offended. He still answered calmly. “I'm extremely sensitive to noise.”
“Uh…?”
Feng Yan's heart shattered into pieces. He clenched his hands beneath the table and forced a stiff smile.
Great job, Feng Yan! You disturbed a noise-sensitive patient for an entire year! For a whole year, he could hear his crazy neighbor shouting, moaning, typing, doing laundry in the middle of the night, singing in the shower, and even swearing like a sailor while playing games! Feng Yan berated himself inwardly.
Once again, fortunately, Zheng Yixuan was a good person. After all, he hadn't let Feng Yan choke to death. He had been willing to risk being misunderstood by his neighbor and break into the house to save this idiot's life.
Feng Yan's mood was a complete mess. Fortunately, the waiters arrived with the food at that moment, breaking the endless silence between them.
Thank goodness. At least he wouldn't have to talk while there was hot food to eat.
Just as he was about to eat, Feng Yan remembered that Zheng Yixuan had said he was sensitive to sound, so he didn't dare open his mouth too wide, trying to avoid making any strange noises with his cursed mouth.
The two of them ate in silence.
However, Feng Yan was actually wondering why Zheng Yixuan hadn't come over to reprimand him. If he'd known someone lived next door, he definitely would've restrained himself.
Does he think I'm a psychopath, so he's afraid of me and doesn't want to communicate? Feng Yan began having strange thoughts again. If that's the case, he could just move out. There are plenty of vacant houses for rent in this community.
As he ate, Feng Yan stole occasional glances at the man across from him. Based on Feng Yan's observations, this calm demeanor didn't look like that of someone with severe social phobia, so the possibility that Zheng Yixuan was afraid of him could be ruled out.
He even kept looking me in the eyes while talking to me. Then…
The only thing Feng Yan was certain of was that Zheng Yixuan definitely had a mental problem. The reason was simple: most normal people weren't severely sensitive to sound.
According to the information Feng Yan had looked up while writing his novel, sensitivity to sound was often caused by other illnesses, such as depression and anxiety, which could include noise sensitivity as a symptom.