I Fell in Love in China
I thought I would be single forever; boy was I wrong.
Relationships never really worked out for me too well. I could say I attracted “crazy” pretty often, but I’m dating crazy every time; maybe that makes me crazy too. Yet, one day while swiping on Tinder, yes, Tinder, it all changed.
After swiping through a few profiles, I landed one that piqued my interest. A girl with red dyed hair is standing on a rock in the middle of a pond. The photo showed a sunny day; the water was spotless, and the skies were clear. I haven’t seen this photo in almost a year, but I remember it like yesterday.
I prepared to swipe right, hunkering down for the unutterable disappointment of a non-match. Yet, when I swiped, I matched right away. Did she swipe on me first? Niiiiiiiice.
The Pick-Up
I slid in with classic lines about the cat in her photo, and we were off to the races. We chatted while I was at work, and each reply was faster than the last.
I usually slow down my texting when I start chatting with someone, but she seemed to like talking to me. I learned she was a student, that she is freakishly easy to get scared, and that she had a cat named Dollar.
After three days of messaging, I took the leap and asked her to date me.
“I have gym training that day, sorry.”
You thought that would stop me? I responded:
“You’ll be at the gym the entire day? That’s a hell of a workout.”
This was a giant leap for your dear ol’ author here, but I guess she appreciated the effort. We agreed and went on our way the next day to get coffee.
The First Date
I showed up 10 minutes early; she showed up 20 minutes late. She apologized, and I said it was okay. We talked, we laughed, and we enjoyed each other.
Her and I’s coffees were long finished, and the paper straws began decomposing long ago. Yet neither one of us dared mention that it was time to separate. I could have easily sat there until closing, talking about our backgrounds and things we didn’t like.
That first date felt like one second that lasted an eternity, one that I wouldn’t let go of, no matter who tried to pry it away from me.
Where Are We Now
Lucky for you, reader, this isn’t one of those bait stories where your heart gets broken. The first date turned into a second the next day, which turned into another the following week.
Things progressed, regressed, then progressed again. It’s been nine months, and I don’t want it to end.
One year ago, I was okay with thinking I’ll be single for the rest of my life. Oh, how the times change.
What are your expat love stories? I’d love to hear from you, drop them in the comment section!
I typically write about all things expat and China. You can find more JUST like it on my Medium landing page, where I cover all things expat and China-related.
I’m also a freelance copywriter; if you want to contact me about the services I offer, you can contact me via my portfolio website.
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