Others obviously don’t think Zheng Lili’s joke went too far. “Oh, come on,” Hadron says to me. “Practical jokes are supposed to raise the hair on your neck if they’re being done right. What’s there to be afraid of?” He points at the executives upstairs.

I break into a cold sweat, wondering whether he suspects anything because of my reaction to Zheng Lili’s prank. Can he see through me? But even that’s not my biggest worry.

Reformatting the world, is that really just the mad ravings of IT Republic extremists? Is this really just an April Fool’s joke? How long can the hair that suspends the sword last?

In an instant, like a bright light driving away the dark, my doubt is gone. I have decided.

I ask Jian Jian to meet me this evening. When I see her against the backdrop of a sea of the city’s streetlamps, my hard heart softens again. She seems so delicate, like a candle flame that can be snuffed out by the slightest breeze. How can I hurt her? As she comes closer and I can see her eyes, the scales in my heart have already tilted completely to the other side. Without her, what do I even want those two-hundred-plus years for? Will time truly heal all wounds? It could simply be two centuries of nonstop punishment. Love elevates me, an extremely selfish man, to lofty heights.

Jian Jian speaks first, though. Unexpectedly, she says what I prepared to say to her, word for word: “I’ve been turning this over in my head for a long time now. I think we should break up.”

Lost, I ask her why.

“Many years from now, I’ll still be young. You’ll already be old.”

It takes a long moment for me to understand what she’s saying. Then I realize what the look on her face as she was walking toward me meant. I mistook her solemn expression as her having guessed what I was about to do. Laughter bubbles through me. It grows until it is loud and pitched at the sky. I am such an idiot. I never considered what era this is, what temptations appear before us. When I stop laughing, I feel relieved. My body is so light, I might float away. At the same time, though, I’m genuinely happy for Jian Jian.

“Where did you get so much money?” I ask her.

“It’s just enough for me.” Her voice is low. She avoids my gaze.

“I know. It doesn’t matter. I mean, it takes a lot of money for just you, too.”

“My dad gave me some. One hundred years is enough. I saved some money. By then, the interest ought to be sizable.”