why quiet is required

At my current home in Beijing, I must use my slighter, softer voice not so much for style as for practicality.

A year ago, I was about to go to sleep one night when I heard my neighbors talking through the wall that divides our flats. I was shocked because I heard everything quite clearly. I was also embarrassed because I realized that my neighbors had likely heard every noise I had made up until that point in time.

Christ, how embarrassing! The more I thought of what kinds of noises I’d made, the more horrified I was at the thought of seeing my neighbor in the elevator.

Even though the Chinese are generally really tolerant people, I can still blindly stumble into a situation that proves I deserve pity more than anything else.