On present form

Breaking up is hard to do: it’s the theme of countless pop music lyrics. Over in China the Youth Times picked up last week on an extreme example, where a breakup and attempted reconciliation between two young lovers led to police intervention. The Hangzhou couple had split earlier this year, but after six months of soul-searching Shi, the 24 year-old boyfriend employed as a fitness instructor, wanted to get back together with Zhu, his former girlfriend. His strategy was to wait for her outside her house and then lavish her with gifts. In this case he gave Zhu a Cartier bracelet worth Rmb70,000 ($10,162) and a new iPhone X (evidence perhaps that he comes from a rich family, as the gifts seem beyond the pay grade of the average fitness coach). He apologised for past wrongdoing and said he hoped they could get back together. She took the gifts, but said she was only willing to be friends, not lovers. Shi left, but returned the next evening with a friend and blocked her door. Having concluded that Zhu wouldn’t taking him back, he demanded the return of his presents, and when she refused, he called the police to say he’d been robbed. Both were then taken to the police station, where it soon emerged that no robbery had occurred and Shi was put into detention for reporting a ‘fake’ crime. Youth Times added that the police had told the couple that as he had given her the gifts freely, they must resolve the issue between themselves.

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