A Chinese woman may have thought she was stuck on Groundhog Day, or maybe caught in one of Dante’s circles of hell, after going on a first date with a potential partner, and not being allowed to leave because Zhengzhou, the city where the man lives, went into lockdown.
The situation could have not been too bad if there was chemistry between the couple, which would then make their forced and inescapable togetherness appealing, even romantic.
Unfortunately, the two did not hit it off.
However, on the bright side, the videos that the woman has uploaded on Weibo documenting their online life went viral, causing her to become one of the pandemic’s internet sensations, for now at least.
Last week, a Ms Wang had gone to Zhengzhou to meet some suitors that had been arranged for her, according to an AFP report.
“I’m getting old now, my family introduced me to ten matches… The fifth date wanted to show off his cooking skills and invited me over to his house for dinner,” she told The Paper, a news outlet in Shanghai, on Tuesday (Jan 11).
However, as more than 100 Covid-19 cases were reported in the city, a lockdown was suddenly imposed on Jan 5.
Both the Delta and Omicron variants are causing outbreaks in different parts of China.
“Just after I arrived in Zhengzhou, there was an outbreak and his community was put under lockdown and I could not leave,” Ms Wang said.
She’s been holed up in the man’s apartment since their date and has been posting short video clips of the man working on the computer, preparing food for her, as well doing other chores.
What she has not revealed, however, is the name of her mystery man.
Neither has she disclosed how old she is.
But Ms Wang explained that the man is apparently the strong, silent type, and she prefers someone who engages in conversation quite a bit more.
She told The Paper, “Beside the fact that he’s as mute as a wooden mannequin, everything else (about him) is pretty good. Despite his food being mediocre, he’s still willing to cook, which I think is great.”
AFP reported that her videos had gone viral and had been viewed millions of times on Weibo.
But since this has thrust her blind date into the spotlight, she decided to take her videos down for now.
In a video posted on Weibo on Tuesday, she said, ”Friends have been calling him and I think this has definitely affected his life, so I have taken them down for now.
Thanks everyone for your attention… I hope the outbreak ends soon and that my single sisters also find a relationship soon.” /TISG