In addition to Valentine’s Day (February 14) and the Qixi Festival (July 7 in the lunar calendar), the online Valentine’s Day (May 20) has become quite popular in the information age in China. During this occasion, social media is flooded with romantic and sweet expressions of affection. Alongside those who have a “significant other” with romantic confessions, there are also unfortunate incidents that arise from the May 20 holiday. Recently, netizens “unearthed” images from a video depicting a guy receiving 52 slaps from his girlfriend. The reason for this was simply that he refused to buy her a phone as a gift for the May 20 celebration.
This incident reportedly occurred last year but has now been “rediscovered” by netizens. The context of this video is on the sidewalk of a street in Sichuan, China. Despite the crowd around this couple, the girl delivered 52 slaps along with countless harsh words. Many bystanders attempted to intervene, but to no avail; they even had to call the police for assistance.
However, even though he was the “victim,” the boy stood still and accepted it despite the many people around expressing their dissatisfaction. He showed no signs of resistance or anger towards his partner. When the police arrived, he even defended his girlfriend and admitted that he was at fault. According to the police investigation, the girl’s violent behavior was said to stem from her boyfriend’s refusal to buy her a new phone for the “520 Valentine’s Day.” Thus, she did not hesitate to “gift” him 52 slaps.
According to Red Star News, the girl who displayed such outrageous behavior is quite devoted to her boyfriend. She has continually bought him brand-name gifts, but when she requested a similar condition, it went unfulfilled.
Right after the clip was “unearthed,” netizens engaged in endless debates about who was right and who was wrong. Most viewers were outraged by the girl’s materialistic behavior. Indeed, material possessions are merely a temporary expression of affection. If two people truly love and commit to each other, they should respect and empathize with each other in every circumstance.