Someone asked why, in China, people sometimes say they oppose overworking and sometimes say they oppose “lying flat.” In fact, they don’t oppose overworking, and they don’t oppose “lying flat.” What they fundamentally oppose is individuals breaking away from a controllable production order. What they want is not for you to be at ease, and not for you to succeed, but for you to work hard enough to keep the system running—yet not so hard that it demands a redistribution of the “cake.” You should have hope, but you shouldn’t truly have too much bargaining power. You should compete, but you must not question the rules of competition. The problem with “lying flat” is that you exit the game. The problem with overworking is that you expose the game’s cruelty. So the most ideal state is: keep you anxious, but not desperate; keep you striving, but not awakened; keep you producing, but don’t ask for anything.