City’s singles pull a fast one on lovebirds
Print Edition
A VALENTINE’S Day joke by playful singles who booked up all odd numbered seats at a downtown cinema for Friday night is creating a buzz online.
Some netizens have said they would participate in the “game” by buying the rest of the seats and turn it into some sort of a matchmaking party, but many others dismissed it as a disgusting stunt.
All the 60-plus odd numbered seats for the 7:29pm show for the feature film “Beijing Love Story” at the Shanghai UME International Cineplex in Xintiandi on Valentine’s Day have been sold out, meaning couples will have to sit separately.
It has long been a tradition for singles to play pranks on lovers on Valentine’s Day that many attribute to “revenge” act out of loneliness. Pranks, jokes, tricks that keep couples apart are immensely popular online.
One of the oft-repeated mischievous trick involves walking up to a stranger with a girlfriend or wife on the street and slapping him and crying out aloud, “how could you betray me?”
Buying odd or even numbered seats at cinemas is the latest in the practical jokes. The Shanghai Morning Post reported that a single man urged other singles to buy all the odd numbered seats online for the Friday show.
The man, who was not identified, reportedly broke up with his girlfriend last year and had planned to spend the Valentine’s Day evening with his other single friends when he saw the trick online and decided to put it into practice.
The ploy initially did not work as his effort to buy the odd seats at the cinema all by himself was rejected by the theater. He then tried his luck on a ticket booking website and was unsuccessful again. But persistence paid off after he called the website which sold him most of the tickets.
Ironically, the website said the feelings of singles should also be taken into account!
The man received support from eight netizens within an hour after initiating the idea online and all of the odd numbered seats were sold out.
Kevin Gan, a 30-year-old single electrical engineer, said it was a fun idea. “I will probably buy a ticket which will also give me a chance to meet other singles,” he said.
But not all were so welcoming. “It is fun and creative, but this goes too far,” a netizen said.
Another slammed it as “evil and crazy.”
A survey of over 16,000 singles by matchmaking website jiayuan.com found more than 38 percent of females and more than 10 percent of males were in no mood to celebrate the lovers day.
Meanwhile, travel agencies said hotel bookings and tour packages were nearly sold out for Valentine’s Day. More than 70 percent of those who booked hotels are males, online travel operator Ctrip said. Rooms with riverside view are most preferred, and short trips to neighboring cities are equally popular.
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