Though Voiceless, You Still Said All That Matters

Premise: Modern AU. XL just recently moved into a gated community that doesn't have a lot of residents because the zip code is outside what most people can afford. He clearly has the money to stay in a place like that (thanks to his previous job, XL has plenty of savings that'll make his life pretty comfortable for the next decade at least) BUT he still decided to work because he didn't wanna slack off and currently works as a children's book author. It's winter, pretty cold, perfect excuse for XL to wear turtlenecks and scarves. He often goes out on walks with his short-haired white cat (Ruoye) for a breath of fresh air, looking for inspiration for his next story. Every time XL walks past his neighbour's house, he catches a glimpse of this stone-cold looking gentleman who seems pretty absorbed in a book, quietly reading with no expression on his face, semi-casually lounging on his garden-swing (despite it being winter, the man doesn't seem bothered by the cold) with an elegant looking cat that had a thick white coat and ice-blue eyes resting on his lap....

WARNING: Social anxiety - Brief panic attack - Mentions of past injury - Hinted HuaLian friendship - Surprise ending