Boy-space-girl-space: Bitter guy buys every other seat in Valentine’s Day movie showings

A single man in Shanghai has decided to share his bitterness with couples who want to go to the cinema on Valentine's Day and sit together.

The man, known only as "U.P.," saw that Xintiandi Theaters were promoting a special screening of Beijing Love Story and purchased online tickets for every other seat at the showing. His girlfriend allegedly broke up with him on Valentine's Day last year.

When the cinema chain's online system began to flag his purchases as suspicious, he recruited like-minded accomplices to purchase tickets both online and at the ticket counter.

"Want to see a movie on Valentine’s Day? Sorry, you’ll have to sit separately," he allegedly wrote in an online forum.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Give us singles a chance."

Speaking to The Shanghai Morning Post, "U.P." claimed that his massive, coordinated effort to prevent couples from sitting next to each other on Valentine's Day was "just a small joke."

One Chinese blogger disagreed, writing that "[i]t’s no wonder he can’t find girlfriend when he spends all his time doing this."