A woman in China went viral with simple videos from her time in lockdown. They included cooking food, doing household chores, and working from home.
The kicker? She’s stuck on a blind date that just won’t end.
It all started when she went to her date’s house for a home-cooked meal. While she was there, Chinese authorities put the region into lockdown.
She took the videos down from Weibo (Chinese Twitter) because the man’s friends started getting calls about their situation.
Those hoping for romance prepare for some bad news: she said he’s not talkative enough for her but that she likes his willingness to cook.
Turning this into a story, what if a blind date goes into lockdown at home with two people who hate each other?
The story starts when we meet a woman looking for love. Her mother sets her up with a “nice young man,” the son of a woman who goes to her church. The man calls her up, asking if she’d agree to a home-cooked meal.
Apprehensive at first about going into a stranger’s home, the daughter reluctantly agrees.
She assumes she’s meeting a religious man or at least someone who grew up in the church since their mothers met at church. Not her first choice, but she’s looking to settle down and is willing to give him a shot.
He turns out to be a passive, uncaring man.
The story switches to his background. How he’s content at his easy government job and actively doesn’t want a promotion. His mother hounds him to find a woman, and he agrees when she sets up the date for him so she’ll stop bothering him.
Cooking dinner at home is how he plans on saving money since he doesn’t want to spend anything on the date.
From his viewpoint, we see the dinner—a standard meal with rudimentary pleasantries and little chemistry.
Then, they start arguing when the woman finds out he’s cheap.
She’s about to leave, getting as far as the front door of the building before she turns around so she can make one final point.
That’s when the lockdown hits.
They begin with a truce, thinking the lockdown will be over quickly. However, another argument occurs on the following day, storming off into separate rooms.
Then, news arrives that the lockdown is at least a week.
Knowing they can’t coexist, they build dividers for their separate spaces. They realize they worked together well when working towards a new task, but the feeling is short-lived because an elderly female neighbor comes by and visits, despite the lockdown restrictions.
The woman stays away while the man sits with the neighbor, talking. She thinks he might be worth learning more about, but they argue again when the woman leaves.
After a terrible lockdown experience, the country finally lets them part ways. The woman goes home, and the man goes back to his life.
But he’s unsatisfied. He finds himself working harder, dressing better, and making minor improvements to his life.
The woman goes on several dates with seemingly perfect guys but gets bored with each one.
A year later, the mothers come up with a scheme for their children to cross paths. They set up plans with the same lawyer to set up their wills and watch the two children see each other again.
Each of them has changed: the woman isn’t so judgmental, and the man has cleaned up his act. But, they argue like cats and dogs again.
The mothers and the lawyer slip out, locking the two of them behind closed doors. Eventually, they open up to each other and ask how the previous year has been.
The viewpoint shifts to the mothers, watching the couple walk hand in hand.
