Resigned to a new way of life

Like most companies in the sector, Guo's work schedule at Byte-Dance was the grueling 996 format, which requires employees to work from 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week.

Guo remembers that everyone wrote code like crazy, often working until midnight.

One of the biggest projects he was involved with was Millionaire Hero, a livestreamed quiz show on Byte-Dance's Xigua video app. For the whole month, his life was only sleep and work.

During that six-year period at ByteDance, Guo says that, with his tough schedule and midnight finishes, he sacrificed his freedom in the short term, but he also gained something for the long term, which will give him that second chance he talks about. In 2017, he got the opportunity to take part in the Byte-Dance share option scheme, something he is under an obligation to not discuss in detail.

Facing this unexpected fortune, Guo was unable to sleep, feeling unprepared and unable to envision a future without coding.

In 2013, Guo began flying to Japan on a frequent basis and has been to more than 150 onsen (hot spring) towns.

He still remembers his first hot spring experience in a family inn. Although the place was small and water was not clean, Guo was hooked and embarked on regular hot spring visits. He spent nearly 400,000 yuan ($57,005) a year on the trips, even earning a certificate for Japanese language proficiency in 2018.

As a frequent flyer, he has traveled nearly 900,000 kilometers, and his target is to hit 1 million km before the age of 30.

Spring in his step

It was the hot springs that made him start seriously rethinking his job and life.

"Totally different from the internet industry, which focuses on targeting the public demands, onsen provide an isolated space, which makes people introspective," Guo explains.