Life moves at hyperspeed in Aw’s Shanghai, where letting your guard down for even a second can mean being left behind. "You must appreciate that time is always against you,” he writes. “It is never kind or encouraging. It gnaws away invisibly at all good things. … if you have any desire to accomplish anything, even the simplest task, do it swiftly and with great purpose, or time will drag it away from you." But what will be the result of this relentless competition, and how do you reckon with lagging behind when it seems like everyone else is getting ahead?