From stroking fish to lying flat and identifying with a pathetic scholar, young Chinese workers are full of apathy for the grind. Now, they have a new way to describe their laziness with students writing online: “The main focus of going to the classroom is simply companionship (去教室主打的就是一个陪伴, Qù jiàoshì zhǔdǎ de jiùshì yí gè péibàn).”

“The main focus is companionship (主打的就是一个陪伴 Zhǔdǎ de jiùshì yí gè péibàn)” has recently gone viral on Chinese social media. Originally “主打 (Zhǔdǎ)” was used to describe a person or a product that plays a vital role in promotion. “主打产品 (zhǔdǎ chǎnpǐn),” for example, refers to a flagship product; “主打歌 (zhǔdǎ gē)” is the lead song on an album; and “主打菜 (zhǔdǎ cài)” is the signature dish of a restaurant. More recently, though, it has become a meme.

The joke originated on Douyin (China’s version of TikTok), where devoted fans of celebrities regularly profess their desire to foster (养成 yǎngchéng) their favorite stars by “accompanying them from obscurity to flourishing success (陪他从默默无闻到繁花似锦 Péi tā cóng mòmò wúwén dào fánhuā sìjǐn),” without seeking anything in return.

People’s “focus” has now taken an insincere turn. Students claim they attend class not to learn but to accompany their teacher and classmates, in self-mockery of their lack of dedication. Though physically present, they have no study goals, describing themselves as: “Not skipping a single class, not listening to a single word, bringing no book, and taking no pen out. The main focus of going to the classroom is simply companionship. (一节课不旷，一个字不听，一本书不带，一支笔不拿，去教室主打的就是一个陪伴 Yì jié kè bù kuàng, yì gè zì bù tīng, yì běn shū bù dài, yì zhī bǐ bù ná, qù jiàoshì zhǔdǎ de jiùshì yí gè péibàn).”

Unlike high school students who are burdened with the pressure of the college entrance exam (高考 gāokǎo) and often employ the catchphrase “Time for class, no more chatting (上课了，不聊了 Shàngkè le, bù liáo le),” college students have taken to messaging their friends the opposite: “Class is over, I’ll stop chatting now (下课了，不聊了 Xiàkè le, bù liáo le).”

While companionship is the main aim of study, students also self-mockingly announce that “after class, the main focus is the Engel coefficient (下课主打一个恩格尔系数 Xiàkè zhǔdǎ yí gè Ēngé’ěr xìshù),” a nerdy reference to them using disproportionately high amounts of their income on food because they spend all their time in class thinking about what to eat afterward.

China’s “wage slaves (打工人 dǎgōng rén)” have also taken up the phrase as yet another way to describe their slacking, announcing: “Go to work with formal pretense and be wholeheartedly ready to clock off: The main focus is simply companionship (装模做样上班，全心全意下班，主打的就是一个陪伴 Zhuāngmú zuòyàng shàngbān, quánxīn quányì xiàbān, zhǔdǎ de jiùshì yí gè péibàn).”