The things we do for love: 99 watermelons to win back her heart

What does an engineering student, 99 watermelons, and a crowd of people have to do with each other? Love.

That's right, love is the motivation underlying this strange scene that happened on Monday (Jun 19) night on a Henan University sports field in China.

In an attempt to win back the heart of his ex-girlfriend, an undergraduate student brought 99 watermelons to the field along with a cake and candles.

According to South China Morning Post, the student had asked a friend to help him transport the watermelons in a van and place them on the field.

The friend explained to a crowd of onlookers that the student and his girlfriend had broken up and he wanted to get back together.

The lovelorn student called his ex-girlfriend and waited for around 10 minutes only to be greeted by campus security instead of his former significant other.

A Straits Times article states that security guards asked the crowd to disperse but not before the student's friend yelled: "Everyone, grab the melons!"

While the student's plan was a flop, many lucky onlookers got to go home with refreshing watermelons.

Why the student chose 99 watermelons as an expression of his devotion is still anyone's guess.

However, he's not the only one who's had the idea to present large quantities of the same item to a sweetheart.

In 2014, a programmer from Guangzhou province spent the equivalent of two years' salary to buy 99 iPhone 6s to propose to his girlfriend, only to be rejected.

Another man attempted to propose to his girlfriend in 2015 using a bunch of lychees arranged in the shape of two arrow-struck hearts and the word "LOVE."

His girlfriend, stunned, ate one and ran away.

The following year, in 2016, a university student confessed to his crush with a love song he wrote and 999 pomelos, arranged in the shape of a giant heart.

After he was friend-zoned, bystanders also went home with lots of free fruit.

In more hopeful cases, proposing with bouquets of hot pot meat, cash, or thongs yielded happy endings.

Perhaps the secret, then, is in wrapping things in a bouquet. 

thanhb@sph.com.sg