The Quantified Tenderness
To ease the growing number of marital disputes and boost the plummeting marriage rate, the government officially launches the "Absolute Split Neural Chip". This chip quantifies the value of every action taken by both spouses in real time — from a word of care or a simple embrace, to housework and bodily harm. All actions are automatically settled at fair market prices, and the implant remains effective for a lifetime once inserted. Lin Yuzhe, a core tech specialist at an internet company, is an extreme advocate of the all-split lifestyle. He has dated his girlfriend Ning An for three years, and he tallies every expense down to every single slice of beef tripe in a hot pot. He even claims outright that "women who demand betrothal gifts or property co-ownership are just trying to get something for nothing". On the day the chip launches, he excitedly proposes to Ning An, promising "no betrothal gifts or dowries, wedding costs split to the exact cent, absolute fairness forever". Ning An agrees calmly, and the two head to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get the chip implanted. Shortly after the chip activates, Lin Yuzhe basks in the satisfaction of "being in full control", yet he quickly learns the harsh truth of "absolute fairness". When he tries to hug Ning An, the system alerts him that he must pay a 15-yuan fee for "unnecessary physical contact". Hogging the blanket all night costs him a 20-yuan "blanket occupancy fee". After Ning An cooks breakfast and cleans the entire house, the system automatically deducts a 150-yuan housekeeping charge from his account. Flying into a rage, he shouts that "it's only natural for wives to handle housework", but Ning An silences him by quoting his own words: "Every bit of effort must be quantified.
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