Chapter 1
My new roommate’s room often made strange noises at night, and there was always a strong, foul, musky odor emanating from it, and from him too. Every time he walked past me, I couldn’t help but want to cover my nose.
I guessed he frequently brought girlfriends home for wild, raucous nights, but I had never actually seen any of them.
This one evening, I was sitting on my bed, scrolling on my phone, when a sultry moan echoed from next door again. It sounded like a woman gasping, making unmistakable noises. My mind was racing with frantic thoughts. Even with headphones on, I couldn’t block out the sound. Was he really bringing another girlfriend back? The sounds lasted for several hours before finally quieting down. I finally drifted into an exhausted sleep.
The next morning.
I was getting ready for work. The moment I opened my door, I ran right into my roommate sitting on the couch. I couldn’t help but frown. The musky odor on him seemed even stronger today. When he saw me, his eyes instantly lit up. I was wearing a professional, modest skirt suit today. But his gaze was fixed on me, still staring, and it made my stomach churn.
“Morning, did you sleep well last night? Did I bother you?” He smiled, a knowing glint in his eyes, clearly implying something. The sounds were so loud, does he have no self-awareness? I frowned, bristling with anger, and glared at him, ready to storm out. But then he started to explain:
“I’m a voice actor. I need a quiet environment late at night to simulate various situational sounds for my work.” His mouth opened and closed, a sleazy glint in his smiling eyes. “You know, some voice work is just hard to perform in an office.” I couldn’t help but think of the voice actor videos I’d seen online – the voices often had a stark contrast with the actual person. But… those explicit sounds I heard, were they just voice acting?
Seeing my continued suspicion, he got up from the couch. The strange odor on him intensified with his movement, filling the entire space with a suffocating, unpleasant smell. I subtly took a step back, not bothering to hide my disgust, my brows still tightly furrowed. He paused for a moment, then chuckled, revealing his large teeth. I only wished I was nearsighted, because I could see the food remnants on his teeth all too clearly, and my stomach twisted with nausea. “Here, look, this is my work ID.” He held the ID up to my face. The closer he got, the stronger that utterly foul smell became. I forced myself to suppress a dry heave and glanced at it. Sure enough, he was a voice actor. Hearing his explanation, I secretly let out a sigh of relief, but my guard didn’t drop. Because ever since he moved in, I’d constantly felt his subtle, lingering gaze, like a shadow, making the hair on my arms stand on end.