Chapter One: The Fixed Diet

The first time Shen Zhiwei saw Gu Chenzhou on television, the host was pushing a plate of boiled broccoli toward him. “Mr. Gu, people online say you looked exactly the same twenty years ago. Will you tell us your secret to staying young?” The man on the screen wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled to his forearms. He looked barely thirty. His smile was courteous and boring. “There is no secret. Forty grams of oats and one egg for breakfast. A hundred and fifty grams of chicken breast and two hundred grams of broccoli for lunch. The same again for dinner. Every day.” The host groaned theatrically. Comments streamed past: DISCIPLINE IS THE BEST COSMETIC SURGERY.