My Gorgeous Neighbor Is Cooking Every Day - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Xia Xingye was carrying big bags and small bags, her face beaming with a smile.

After living in the dorms for a year, she could finally apply for off-campus housing.

Her roommates were nice people, but their lifestyles were incompatible with hers, making it truly impossible for Xia Xingye to live with them.

As a native Southerner, her nightlife was just beginning at 9 PM. Unfortunately, her three roommates were all Northerners, and 9 PM was already considered staying up late for them.

Since Xia Xingye was accustomed to having a room to herself, she immediately applied for permission to live off-campus the moment she heard it was possible.

Few students applied, and combined with the genuine difference in lifestyles between Xia Xingye and her roommates, the advisor prioritized her application.

She received the approval form and immediately shared the news in the dorm group chat.

A burst of cheers followed. Xia Xingye was happy, and her roommates were happy—a win-win for everyone!

Xia Xingye quickly packed her belongings. Her roommates were very enthusiastic about helping her move, and Xia Xingye almost gave in to their warmth and let them assist.

Fortunately, Xia Xingye was quick to react. Given her roommates’ overly familiar nature, any future gatherings or activities would likely be held at her newly rented place, as there were many restrictions in the dorms.

But Xia Xingye disliked having people in her private space. Aside from the different living habits, this was another reason she had to move out: she didn’t want to open her eyes and see people walking around in front of her.

She politely declined her roommates’ offer and hailed a taxi to her new residence by herself.

The new place was in a community not too far nor too close to the school. The taxi ride took about twenty minutes, a distance within Xia Xingye’s acceptable range.

Xia Xingye had all her things packed: one suitcase and one backpack—all her belongings.

She had visited the community before, and the guard remembered her, letting her in without much inquiry.

She went upstairs, found her apartment, and put down her suitcase. The lock was a keypad. Just as Xia Xingye pressed two digits, the door of her next-door neighbor opened.

Xia Xingye subconsciously looked over but didn’t see anyone, only the door standing ajar. After a two-second hesitation, she ignored it and continued to enter the password.

Dragging her suitcase inside, Xia Xingye closed the door, arranged her daily necessities one by one, and looked at the cups on the sink with satisfaction.

There were no other people’s things, only hers.

Xia Xingye felt delighted. It was Saturday, and she had no classes all day. She quickly tidied up her new home, took a shower, and confidently went back to bed for a nap—even though it was nearly noon, as long as she hadn’t eaten lunch, it was still morning.

She woke up refreshed at 1 PM. This was more in line with her schedule, not sleeping at 9 PM and waking up at 6 AM.

Sleeping at midnight and waking up at noon was her rhythm.

After washing up, Xia Xingye slowly ordered takeout. While waiting, she scrolled boredly on her phone, occasionally hearing strange sounds coming from next door. Xia Xingye glanced over twice, concentrating to listen. It seemed like someone was sawing something.

Sawing something in a big city?

Xia Xingye shivered, inexplicably recalling dismemberment cases from movies. She shook her head. No way. Even if it happened, it wouldn’t be so coincidental for her to run into it.

It was just strange. When Xia Xingye rented the place, she had specifically asked about the soundproofing. The property management had assured her the soundproofing was excellent; even if the neighbor sang karaoke, she wouldn’t be disturbed.

Xia Xingye pouted, assuming the property management had exaggerated and the soundproofing was actually quite poor.

When the delivery arrived, the delivery driver kept staring at her as she took the food. He opened his mouth but made no sound.

Xia Xingye was startled and asked hesitantly, “Are you deaf and mute?”

As she spoke, she was about to take out her phone to type a message to the driver, but he urgently pointed to her ear.

Xia Xingye then realized, removed her earbuds, and apologized, “It’s a bit noisy next door.”

The delivery driver looked around confusedly. Xia Xingye hadn’t heard the noise, so she asked, “There was just a moment ago. Maybe they’ve finished now. What did you want to say to me?”

The driver pointed to the garbage bag next to her and asked, “Do you want me to take the trash downstairs for you?”

Xia Xingye looked down. It was the garbage she had cleaned up in the morning and forgotten to take out. She smiled and thanked him, “Thank you so much. I’ll give you a five-star review.”

Back inside, Xia Xingye not only gave a good review but also a tip.

Just as she opened her takeout, the noise next door started again.

Xia Xingye: “…”

Did they stop just now because there was an outsider, out of embarrassment?

Xia Xingye gave a helpless laugh, deciding to go talk to the neighbor after eating. Since she planned to live here for a long time, she needed to speak to the neighbor in advance. She didn’t want to be woken up while sleeping.

No matter who was waking her up, she would lose it.

After finishing her meal, Xia Xingye took the takeout containers and knocked on the neighbor’s door. After talking to the neighbor, she could take the trash down.

She waited for a minute, but the door didn’t open. Xia Xingye hesitated and knocked again; still, no response.

Xia Xingye frowned. There was clearly noise next door before she came out. Were they pretending to be dead the moment she knocked?

“Could you please keep the noise down? It’s very loud.”

As expected, there was no response. Xia Xingye sighed. She didn’t know if the neighbor had heard her, but she had to go take out the trash first.

If it was still noisy later, she would deal with it then.

After returning, Xia Xingye stood in the living room and listened for a while. She heard no noise. She breathed a sigh of relief. Although the neighbor was a bit impolite, not even opening the door, they seemed to take advice.

Xia Xingye thought the matter was over. However, she was woken up in the middle of the night by noise from next door again. This time, it was a child’s voice, babbling something in a sweet tone.

The child’s voice was nice, and normally Xia Xingye wouldn’t complain, but in the middle of the night, no matter how nice the voice was, she didn’t want to hear it!

Xia Xingye took a deep breath and reached out to knock on the wall: “Keep it quiet, it’s the middle of the night.”

The wall on the inner side of her bed was directly connected to the neighbor’s apartment.

The noise next door stopped. Xia Xingye withdrew her hand. Just as she closed her eyes, the noise next door started up again.

Xia Xingye gloomily put on her earplugs and managed to fall asleep.

The next morning, Xia Xingye was brushing her teeth, looking at her expressionless self in the mirror, and silently sighed.

It was uncomfortable sleeping with earplugs. Today, no matter what, she had to have a proper talk with her neighbor.

Xia Xingye made up her mind. After buying breakfast, she staked out her neighbor’s door. If they didn’t answer, she would just wait by the door.

She waited all day. The hallway light automatically turned on, but no one came out of the apartment, and no one came to deliver takeout.

Xia Xingye silently looked at the takeout containers beside her. Worried that the neighbor might leave while she was out eating, she kept ordering delivery. Yet, she still didn’t manage to catch the neighbor opening the door. Instead, the delivery drivers looked at her sitting on the small stool with a strangely pitying look in their eyes.

No… I wasn’t kicked out.

Xia Xingye wanted to explain but then gave up. It was just a delivery driver; she might never see them again, so there was no need to explain.

Since Xia Xingye started sitting outside, no one came out of the neighbor’s house, and there was no noise. Xia Xingye initially wanted to talk to the neighbor, but now she was just worried.

Did they stay up all night and… passed out?

Xia Xingye anxiously called the property management. When the manager heard her mention the neighbor, they strangely said, “Your neighbor has a peculiar personality, but they’re not a bad person, and they certainly wouldn’t have an accident.”

Xia Xingye didn’t understand: “There really hasn’t been any sound, and they won’t answer me. Could something have happened? You should come and check.”

The manager helplessly said, “Wait a moment.”

After a while, the manager called back and said, “The person is fine. They are sleeping during the day.”

Xia Xingye sensed something was wrong: “Do you mean my neighbor starts their activities in the middle of the night?”

The manager didn’t seem concerned: “We don’t have the authority to manage what tenants do.”

Xia Xingye: “You have to manage it; it’s disturbing me.”

The manager was silent for a moment, then said, “Why don’t you go see a doctor?”

“What do you mean?” Xia Xingye was displeased. “You were the ones who told me the soundproofing was excellent!”

Xia Xingye hadn’t complained about the slightly higher price because of the good soundproofing.

“No, don’t worry,” the manager sounded more innocent than anyone else. “The soundproofing is truly excellent. If you were being disturbed, others would be too, but our community has never received a complaint about poor soundproofing. See if it’s not…”

The manager stopped there, but Xia Xingye knew what they meant: her ears might have a problem, and she should go to the hospital.

“You don’t think I’m a gullible college student, do you?”

Xia Xingye couldn’t help but recall the internet meme about “pure and foolish college students.”

“How could I? If you don’t believe me, you can ask the other residents to see what our soundproofing is like.”

The manager’s words made Xia Xingye a little unsure. Was she really hallucinating the sounds?

Xia Xingye hung up the phone, picked up her small stool, and just as she returned to her room and closed the door, the noise next door started up again.

“Ah!”

Xia Xingye cried out, grabbed her phone, and started recording. She then sent it to the dorm group chat.

Xia Xingye: “Can you hear any sounds?”

It was late at night, so Xia Xingye didn’t want to bother other neighbors. She had to send it to her roommates, hoping they were still awake.

Soon after, all three roommates replied, saying the recording was silent and they couldn’t hear anything.

Xia Xingye listened to it herself in disbelief. She could hear the sounds, but her roommates all said they couldn’t.

Could there really be something wrong with her ears?

Xia Xingye nervously pressed her ear to the wall. The moment she leaned in, the noise vanished, as if the person on the other side knew she was listening.

Xia Xingye laughed at her own thought. With a wall that thick, how could anyone know what she was doing unless they were a deity?

The more she thought about it, the more she felt it might be her own issue. Xia Xingye helplessly rubbed her head: “I must have been too tired these past two days. I’ll go have a good meal tomorrow.”

After mumbling to herself, Xia Xingye quietly washed up and went to bed.

Tonight was the same as last night: the noise started and got progressively louder in the middle of the night. Earplugs couldn’t block out the sound, and wearing them for too long made her ears ache. Xia Xingye simply took them out. She could hear the noise whether she wore them or not.

Xia Xingye closed her eyes and tried hard to empty her mind when a loud explosion suddenly rang out near her ear. Xia Xingye frowned but still didn’t open her eyes.

It must be my hallucination. Why would there be an explosion for no reason?

After the explosion, the previous chaotic sounds all disappeared. The disappearance was so abrupt that Xia Xingye felt a bit uneasy.

The smell of dust assaulted her nostrils. At this point, Xia Xingye couldn’t pretend nothing had happened. She abruptly sat up and looked toward the foot of her bed.

The wall at the foot of the bed had collapsed.

Xia Xingye: “?”