chapter 1

On Wednesday, I curled up in the living room, listening to the loud banging and cursing coming from upstairs.

I stared through the peephole until I heard the elevator descending.

Then, the previously quiet family upstairs started moving around, jumping and dragging chairs with ear-piercing noises.

I called the police. Officer Li stood in front of me and knocked on their door.

A man’s voice came from inside, swearing, “Damn it, that idiot…”

His voice vanished the moment he saw Officer Li, and then he noticed me hiding behind Officer Li. “You crazy? Calling the police again?”

He took a step forward and pushed me. I staggered, and Officer Li blocked him, “What are you doing?”

“Can you keep it down at night? Just a little quieter?” I asked in a low voice.

“Officer Li, we’re just living normally. She’s just being dramatic, a damn…”

“Keep it down at night. At this hour, it’s disturbing the neighbors.”

“Alright, officer, we’ll change right away.” The Middle-aged Man grinned and saw us out.

I knew they wouldn’t change, because I’d already called the police three times.

Helpless, I went downstairs and returned to my bedroom, my eyes red with frustration, my mood sinking to a low point. Maybe the people upstairs were just as unhappy.

They started getting worse, dragging chairs even louder, the sharp sounds stabbing my eardrums.

[How do you deal with upstairs dragging chairs all day?] I posted for help on social media.

[Fight back! Buy a Neighborhood Harmony Device, solved in three days.]

[I don’t dare. I’m a girl who just graduated, living alone. There’s a whole family upstairs, I’m scared.] I felt pathetic, unable to fight back.

[Ignore them. They’re dragging a coffin up there, scared to death but still not done.]

[Wearing high heels at night means they’re rushing to be reborn as animals. Afraid if they wear flats, they won’t make it!]

[The people upstairs are too much. Who doesn’t make noise at home?]

[Oh, the coffin draggers have arrived?]

[Is the whole family dead? Dragging coffins all day long?]

[Getting up at night in high heels, just rushing to reincarnate as animals?]

……

I ignored their mutual insults.

I had to admit, even though what they said was immoral, I felt a little better.

Maybe the whole family upstairs really was dragging their own coffins.

Wearing high heels all the time, maybe they’re practicing walking like animals, so they can be reborn as one next time?

Thinking this way, the noise from upstairs didn’t seem so sharp anymore. Why bother with people who are about to die? Maybe they’ll be gone tomorrow.

Suddenly, a new message popped up: [Want Silent Earplugs?]

My interest was instantly piqued. I replied, [Silent?]

[Absolutely silent. Solves the noise problem at its root.]

I couldn’t help but be tempted. I’d bought many earplugs before, but none could block the vibrations from the kids running barefoot upstairs.

[How much?] I asked.

[One thousand!]

[That expensive?]

I hesitated. I had just graduated, renting a place to work. I paid a year’s rent upfront, plus a five-thousand deposit. I only had two thousand left.

Maybe because I hadn’t replied for a while, he messaged again.

[Not satisfied, full refund!]

Listening to the piercing sound of chairs dragging upstairs, my heart thumped and my vision darkened.

I’d only lived here for less than a month. If I left now, I’d lose thirty thousand.

On impulse, I placed the order.

The next day, I deliberately worked late at the office, enjoying a moment of peace.

When I got home, my body resisted returning to my rented apartment.

Thinking about falling asleep only to be woken up in the middle of the night.

Just thinking about it made me short of breath, my heart racing, my ears buzzing.

My exhausted body suddenly became alert. I felt like noises were coming from everywhere, those sharp sounds drilling into my ears, into my mind, my head about to explode.

The Silent Earplugs I ordered yesterday arrived today. I put them in at the door before going inside.
As soon as I opened the door, the shrill noises from upstairs quietly seeped into my ears. I felt a bit disappointed-the Silent Earplugs worked about as well as the cheap noise-canceling earplugs I’d used before.

I muttered, “How can I still hear the noise from upstairs? Got tricked again?”

I reached out to take off the earplugs, but suddenly, as if by magic, they started working.

I couldn’t hear a single sound from upstairs. I leaned against the shared wall and listened carefully-nothing.

Suppressing my joy, I went to the bedroom. Standing on the bed, I tried to catch any movement from the ceiling. Not a sound.

I happily cooked, read novels, and before I knew it, I’d curled up on the couch and fallen asleep.

The world was unusually quiet. I slept deeply and peacefully, and had a wonderful dream: in it, the Silent Earplugs turned into a warrior who beat the entire family upstairs into submission. They timidly promised never to make noise again.

After that, aside from normal life, no one made any noise. The dream was so quiet I didn’t want to wake up.

Until four o’clock, when my body woke up out of habit. I looked at the faintly bright night sky outside the balcony. At this hour, I was always jolted awake by the Old Lady chopping vegetables.

My body had memorized it. To avoid being startled awake and shocking my heart, I always woke up early, just as the Old Lady started walking around.

I groped my way to the bathroom in the dark, hesitated, but didn’t take off the earplugs. I knew that if I did, the noise from upstairs would flood into my ears and I’d never get back to sleep.

The Old Lady’s chopping was the loudest. Even when chopping tofu, it sounded like she was hacking through bones, as if she wanted to split the cutting board in two.

Even chopping a few greens, she swung the knife with thunderous force.

And when she chopped meat, the noise could go on for two hours. I’d even bought them a meat grinder once, kindly suggesting that it would be easier for the Old Lady, given her age.

They refused, insisting that only hand-chopped meat tasted good.

I was baffled-what kind of meat needed two hours of chopping? Even dismembering a corpse wouldn’t take that long.

I kept the earplugs in and went back to the bedroom to sleep, until the alarm jolted me awake.

Sunlight was glaring. I’d slept soundly and felt especially good. I kept the earplugs in while washing up, only taking them off after leaving the apartment complex, and putting them back on as soon as I returned home after work.

The next day, I went to bed in the bedroom. Around one in the morning, I thought I heard something and snapped my eyes open, but my ears were perfectly quiet.

I checked my phone-1:30 a.m. The couple upstairs was at it again.

Thankfully, I had the Silent Earplugs. I turned over and went back to sleep, not waking until morning. When I woke up, it was already ten.

It was Saturday, so I didn’t have to work. I casually made some instant noodles.

I thought about it and decided not to take off the earplugs. I spent the whole day reading novels, undisturbed, and felt like my heart was healing.

Suddenly, I noticed the show I was following had updated. My hand instinctively stopped as I reached to remove the earplugs-at this hour, the child upstairs would start running, and the Woman would join in, wearing high heels and bouncing a basketball with the kid.

The thumping was like someone pounding on my heart; my blood seemed to stop for several minutes.

After being tormented by them for so long, my sleep was severely lacking. At night, I went to bed early and slept until I woke naturally.

Another quiet night. In the morning, I was jolted awake by a loud banging on the door.

Groggy, I opened the door. Outside stood Officer Li, whom I’d met three times when I called the police. “Zhang Meng, hello, we need to ask you about…”

“Huh?” I stared at Officer Li in confusion. Why wasn’t he speaking?

Officer Li noticed my ears and pointed. Only then did I remove the earplugs, and suddenly a flood of crying and shouting crashed into my ears. The contrast was so overwhelming I couldn’t bear it, and quickly covered my ears with my hands.

Seeing I’d finally adjusted, they spoke.

“Zhang Meng, did you wear the earplugs all night?” Officer Li looked at me.

“Yes, what’s wrong?” I asked, puzzled.

There were more than a dozen police officers outside-more than the day I called them.

“The entire family upstairs is dead.”