Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups

The situation on this floor is pretty much the same; either temporarily no one resides here, or they've all gone to work.

Fang Cheng arrived in front of Room 1803, which happens to be right below his home.

Knock, knock, knock.

He raised his hand and lightly knocked a few times.

After waiting for a moment, there was still no response.

Fang Cheng shook his head and was about to leave to knock on the last apartment when a thought struck him.

Something's amiss.

Fang Cheng raised an eyebrow, immediately concentrating, and amplified his sensory perception in a flash.

He leaned over and gently pressed his ear against the cold security door.

A faintest of breaths and an even weaker heartbeat.

Like tiny stones thrown into still water, ripples spread through the air, clearly reaching his ears.

Someone is inside.

Moreover, the person seems to be deliberately hiding their presence, as if they're hiding inside.

Thud... thud...

Then, an extremely faint, slow-moving sound of footsteps came.

It seemed that someone was barefoot on the floor, moving slowly toward the door, trying to look through the peephole at the situation outside.

Fang Cheng's mouth curved into a smile as he straightened up and turned away nonchalantly.

Since they are so shy and wary of strangers, there's no need to insist on greeting them.

But just as Fang Cheng stepped out of the semi-enclosed vestibule, he heard the soft sound of a lock being turned behind him.

Click.

The door was pushed open from inside, leaving a small gap.

"Hello, is there something you need?"

A warm male voice came, the voice carrying a courteous and magnetic tone.

Fang Cheng heard and turned back to look.

He saw a rather handsome young man standing behind the door, hiding most of his body.

He smiled at Fang Cheng, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

A flicker of confusion also passed through Fang Cheng's mind.

For a moment, despite the man's unfamiliar appearance, Fang Cheng felt a sense of déjà vu.

"Oh, it's nothing urgent."

Fang Cheng quickly composed himself, showing an apologetic smile:

"I just moved into 1903 upstairs from you.

"Recently my place was being renovated, and today the workers are moving furniture, so it might be a bit noisy. I thought I'd come over to greet the neighbors, sorry if we've disturbed you."

The young man's smile broadened at those words.

He opened the door a bit more, showing more of his body, looking very frank:

"Oh, you're the new neighbor, hello."

"No worries. I'm often away on business trips. I just got back a couple of days ago and was catching up on sleep, so I didn't hear anything at all."

He seemed polite and enthusiastic, not the reclusive, unsocial type one might imagine.

"Oh, that's good then."

After exchanging a few pleasantries with the young man, Fang Cheng turned to leave.

However, just as he turned around.

Fang Cheng clearly felt that gaze still fixed on him.

A faint coldness rose on his back, as if he were being stared at by a wild beast.

The gaze carried no obvious hostility, yet it was filled with scrutiny, sharp as a scalpel used for dissection.

As if wanting to see through him completely.

Fang Cheng showed no sign of this, did not turn around, and walked straight into the elevator, pressing the up button.

Not until the elevator doors slowly closed, blocking out that gaze, did the prickling sensation on his back completely disappear.

Click.

Back home, Fang Cheng closed and locked the security door.

The casual demeanor on his face faded instantly, replaced by deep deliberation.

The neighbor downstairs is certainly not an ordinary person.

That kind of deliberately hidden breath and cautious behavior, along with that scrutinizing stare, were all extraordinary.

Is he also a mutant lurking among ordinary people, or perhaps a fugitive on the run?

Fang Cheng raised his right hand, which had just held the downstairs doorknob, to his nose, and sniffed carefully.

A faint, meticulously crafted scent of cologne wafted up.

Fresh, composed, slightly intense, and cleverly masking the user's natural body scent.

Fang Cheng frowned slightly.

Is this guy really that effeminate? A grown man wearing cologne, is he self-conscious about his body odor?

Or... does he have ulterior motives?

Unable to fathom the man's intentions, Fang Cheng decided not to dwell on it.

He just resolved to keep a close eye on this peculiar new neighbor.