Every year when Chinese Valentine’s – aka QiXi Festival – rolls around, English-language WeChat accounts publish long articles about the holiday’s origins using the same, boring graphics of a boy and a girl in front of a moon on a bridge of birds. Click here if you really want to learn the story behind QiXi.
This year, instead of retelling that myth, Jingkids is sharing some epic real-life love stories.
Once upon a time, before there was Tinder, there was an online dating site called OkCupid. OkCupid believes that you deserve to find who you’re looking for. In the case of Anna Hartley and Charles Pellegrin, OkCupid delivered.
Anna and Charles were both living in Paris when OkCupid introduced them to each other. Anna had been in Paris for two years and was fed up with the dating scene, so she decided to try online dating for fun. Charles had been on OkCupid for two years at that time and was just about to give up hope when he came across Anna’s profile.
Charles: She looked really cool, and her independent spirit really came through. I thought to myself, “This person really knows who she is” and I found that very attractive.
So Anna and Charles went out for a drink at a bar in the Marais, where they talked for hours and hours…
Anna: …and I got no goodbye kiss! I remember walking home in a bit of a daze.
Charles: I knew I was definitely going to see her again so I didn’t kiss her that night. I called her a few days later to set up a second date.
Anna was instantly comfortable with Charles, knowing that their values and aspirations aligned. Plus, as Anna says, “He is so handsome and clever. I had no hope.”
While Charles knew that Anna was special from the get-go, it took him a few months before he realized that she would be the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. “The turning point was a weekend away in Reims where it really dawned on me how amazing she was. I love that she’s able to take in little details from everyday life and turn them into poetry. She’s a constant ray of sunshine.”
When Anna got all of Charles’ friends from around the world to send their well-wishes for his 30th birthday and made it into an amazing video, that was the most romantic gesture that she had ever done for him. For Anna, however, Charles isn’t one big romantic gesture, but “he tells me he loves me every day and shows it in a million little ways like making me breakfast. I am very lucky!”
Anna: “Charles is someone of great integrity. He keeps me grounded when I am worried or scared and is so kind and generous with everyone. He’s also very funny.”
Charles: “Anna is very creative and adventurous, which I love. I’ve learned skills that I would never have dared to on my own, thanks to her. She exudes beauty and kindness. Plus, she laughs at my jokes.”
Though anywhere with each other is the most romantic place they could be in, the outdoor tables at The Local where they went together in their early days in Beijing brought them a bit of familiarity in a strange country. Also, the Jiangxi noodle place across the street from where they used to live made them feel like they just might get the hang of living in Beijing. And they have indeed. We wish the wonderful couple good fortune and happy years ahead as they move to Paris for their next adventure, when their first baby arrives in January!
KEEP READING: QiXi Love Stories: The Whirlwind Romance That Brought This Couple To Beijing
Images: Courtesy of Anna Hartley
