WHAT’S HOT? WHAT’S NOT?

Poetic Delivery Wins Out

Lei Hai, whose normal job is delivering takeout in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, won the top prize in the latest Chinese Poetry Competition, a reality show hosted by China Central Television. Lei told media that he has been reading poetry since he was seven years old, and he always carried a book of poetry with him, even after he moved to Hangzhou for work, a city that first impressed Lei in poems. Lei’s victory swiftly made him a model among other young people, as they said that success will always come to those willing to make an effort.

Model Wish Comes True

With the help of the Shanghaibased Make-a-wish Foundation, Wu Yiqi, a seven-year-old girl living with leukemia, finally realized her dream of being a fashion designer at the 2018 Shanghai Fashion Week held from March 28 to April 3. Wearing a wig and a self-designed pink princess dress, Wu walked on the runway with a beaming smile, moving her mother and other guests at the show to tears.

Thief Dreams of Facing the Music

A thief surnamed Wang hit the wrong note when he stole three cellphones from a Shanghai hospital recently. Not going to great lengths to conceal his crimes, Wang told the arresting officers that he did it so he could be incarcerated and then join the prison band. He dreamed of performing on the stage and had made a living playing on the streets before, but as he was now broke, he thought he would try his luck behind bars. He has stolen 15 times in the past year. There was no word whether he would be able to join the prison band, although netizens applauded him for his single-minded pursuit of his dream.

Master of Make-up Fraud

A 40-year-old woman surnamed Wang has been accused of cheating her boyfriend out of six million yuan (US$923,000). According to media reports, Wang met her boyfriend Li Xiaoqing online, and by the clever application of make-up, pretended to be a woman half her age to extort money from him. Although people around Li had warned that he was being cheated, he said he believed and loved Wang, until he was shocked by her appearance at the police station. While Li expressed regret that he judged people by their appearance, netizens just wanted Wang to teach them how to look 20 years younger.