ETYMOLOGY
The phrase first went viral in 2013 on Douban (China's Reddit-like forum), when an user posted at 3AM: 'Three months of overtime, lèi jué bù ài, need hugs' with a photo of instant noodle cups filled with cigarette butts. This raw depiction of urban exhaustion struck a chord, getting 100k+ shares overnight.
Its cultural breakthrough came in 2014 TV drama Beijing Love Story, where the male lead sighed 'It's not that I don't love, I'm just lèi jué bù ài' during a breakup scene. Ironically, the grammatically inverted structure (correct order should be 觉累不爱) became its linguistic trademark - like how English speakers say 'I could care less' instead of 'couldn't'.
Modern usage examples:
Work: '18th draft revision and client still wants magical unicorn vibes... lèi jué bù ài'Dating: 'Three blind dates in one weekend? Lèi jué bù ài achieved'Gaming: 'Lost 10 ranked matches straight. Lèi jué bù ài loading...'Tsinguhua University's research shows usage peaks during quarter-end deadlines and around Valentine's Day, making it a linguistic barometer for modern stress.