“Mr. Fan, I just speak my mind quickly and directly, it’s inborn—there’s no way I can change it now. John Stone can’t be the dean of students for his whole life, right? If he bullies people too much, I’ll go complain to the education bureau myself!” William Long said indignantly. Wasn’t it just calling John Stone “Crazy Xu”? Is it really necessary to hold such a grudge?

“Clack clack,” William Long pulled out the chair in front of the dorm desk and, with a bitter face, began grading homework.

The noise soon died down, but inside, Edward Brooks was surging with emotion, unable to calm down for a long time. What on earth was going on? He was now standing in the playground in front of the teaching building, yet he could hear the conversation happening in his own dorm room behind the building!

Chapter 4: No Peace for the Ears (Part 2)

And that wasn’t all. As the sky brightened, people in both the student and staff dormitories began to get up—coughing, footsteps, laughter and cursing, the rustling of getting dressed, sleep talking, running water, gargling, urinating, reading aloud—no matter what kind of sound, as long as it came from those two buildings, it all rushed into Edward Brooks’s ears at once, making him extremely uncomfortable.

I need to see a doctor, Edward Brooks thought silently. He hadn’t even considered going to the hospital when he injured his head, but now he was determined—he had to go, because he suspected he was having a nervous breakdown. If he didn’t see a doctor soon, he’d go mad for sure.

Edward Brooks had classes during the third and fourth periods in the morning, so going to the clinic would be enough. When he returned to the dorm and saw William Long indeed grading homework there, he became even more nervous. Grabbing his change of clothes and a small bucket, he hurried out of the dorm as if fleeing.

“What’s gotten into him?”

After stepping out, Edward Brooks heard William Long mutter quietly. This made Edward Brooks walk even faster—if even William Long could tell something was off, he was in real trouble.

At that moment, Edward Brooks’s mind was a mess, and he couldn’t have realized that it was precisely his unusual behavior just now that made William Long comment. If he’d acted as usual, calmly gathering his things before leaving, would William Long have said anything?

It was only when he got to the bathroom that he realized, in his rush, he’d forgotten to bring soap. But Edward Brooks wasn’t in the mood to go back for it. He just wiped himself down with a towel under the tap and called it a bath. Afterward, unlike usual, he didn’t wash his dirty clothes at the same time—he stuffed them into the bucket, tossed it under the bed when he got back to the dorm, changed his shoes, grabbed some money, and left the school.

Shumuling Middle School was in the north of the township, while the township clinic was in the south. As he walked out of the school, Edward Brooks’s ears were even less at peace. Especially when he reached the street—even though there were few pedestrians, it felt to Edward Brooks like he was in a bustling market. All sorts of chaotic sounds, whether he wanted to hear them or not, flooded into his ears. Passing by the township government dormitory, he even heard those moaning sounds, making his face flush red as he hurried past.

The township clinic didn’t have a neurology department, so Edward Brooks had to register for internal medicine. The hospital was very quiet, but that was only for others. In Edward Brooks’s ears, he could clearly hear the sound of IV drips in the upstairs wards. Even though he hadn’t gone up to see, every drop of medicine falling sounded as if it was right next to his ear, which made him extremely anxious.

“What’s bothering you?” In the internal medicine office sat a doctor in his fifties. When he saw Edward Brooks come in, his eyes scanned him from head to toe, starting with a “look” as part of the traditional diagnostic process. But at first glance, the doctor was a bit puzzled—the young man who came in had a rosy complexion and looked energetic. Although there was sweat on the tip of his nose, that was clearly from nervousness, not related to his illness.

“Doctor, I suspect I’m having some kind of nervous disorder,” Edward Brooks said honestly.

“Nervous disorder? Young man, you shouldn’t say things like that lightly,” the doctor said with a smile. “Since you say you have a nervous disorder, what have you noticed?”

“I’m extremely sensitive to outside sounds now. Any little noise, I can hear it. My ears are filled with all kinds of sounds,” Edward Brooks replied truthfully.

“Heh, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have a nervous disorder. Don’t panic, young man. Let me check your heart rate,” the doctor said with a gentle smile, trying to calm Edward Brooks down with a soothing tone.

“But I…”

“Don’t talk for now, let me listen. Hmm, your heart is strong and powerful, and there are no abnormal sounds elsewhere. Young man, have you been overworked or not resting well lately? What you’re describing sounds like tinnitus.” The doctor carefully checked Edward Brooks’s heart and lung function and found everything normal. Also, during their conversation, the young man was clear and logical—definitely not showing symptoms of a nervous disorder.

Tinnitus refers to the abnormal perception of sound in the absence of any external stimulus, and is often a precursor to deafness, caused by auditory dysfunction. But other factors, such as overwork or lack of rest, can also cause it, and in those cases, it’s not accompanied by deafness or dizziness.

A nervous disorder refers to confusion and abnormality in a person’s mind and thinking. Edward Brooks didn’t have either of these symptoms, so how could the doctor possibly diagnose him with a nervous disorder?