Viral Week is our weekly round-up of the weekend’s trending memes, humor, rumor, gossip, and everything else Chinese netizens are chatting about.

This week, onions sent as breakup ‘gift,’ penguins ride rollercoasters in Wuhan, robots help graduation, and a curious dispute ends with two people on the floor:

Teary breakup
A woman in Zibo, Shandong province, sent her ex-boyfriend a large shipment of onions after he unceremoniously dumped her, with a note stating, “I cried for three days, and now it’s your turn!”  Instead of tearing up, however, the entrepreneurial ex resold the onions and netted over 1,000 RMB in the process.

House for a hero

An air conditioner mechanic working for Haier heroically scaled a building to save a child from falling off a sixth-floor balcony, and was rewarded by the appliances firm with an apartment worth 600,000 RMB.

Robot graduation

Due to Covid-19, the Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications used machines made by its prize-winning robotics innovation team to act as graduates in its commencement ceremony. Photos of 10 students were put onto robots wearing commencement caps and gowns, which rolled up to the dean, had their tassle turned, and received the diploma on the student’s behalf.

Playtime for penguins

Two Magellan penguins from the Wuhan Haichang Polar Ocean Park were taken to visit the Happy Valley theme park to go on the rides and socialize with visitors after long shutdowns of tourist attractions across the city due to Covid-19.

Heavy prohibition

The National Radio and Television Administration is banning TV ads for a number of weight-loss products, alleging that they contravene China’s advertising laws.

Grounded argument

Closed-circuit cameras caught a bizarre altercation between a property owner and property manager in Guangxi, during which the manager executed a backflip and fell onto the ground, seemingly pretending to have been pushed over by the owner. The owner then flopped onto the ground himself and began crying, and the manager, apparently unharmed, got up and returned to his office. Police ruled that no physical fight took place, and that this was not a case of pengci, a practice where the parties of a dispute create disturbances or fake injuries in order to get the upper hand.

Itinerary, interrupted 

In a televised interview, Li Jian, deputy director of the Civil Aviation Authority, appealed to fans of celebrities to stop sending their idols off at airports en masse, as it causes disruptions for air travel.

Prenuptial ruptures

On May 23, a Nanjing court ruled that a woman had to return a 300,000 RMB Mercedes-Benz car given as a gift by her ex-boyfriend, after she claimed he had “stolen” it back after the break-up. The legal argument stated that since the car was given as a gift under intention of marriage, the gift should be returned now the relationship had ended.

Cover image from Wikimedia Commons / CC BY