41-year-old Peter Cirk, from Holland, was recently hospitalized after spending 10 days at Changsha Airport, China, hoping to meet a Chinese girl he had met online.

Cirk had met his 26-year-old love interest known only as Zhang on a social network, 2 months ago. The two apparently hit it off, and sick of having 4,500 miles between them, the Dutchman decided to apply for a Chinese visa and go meet Zhang for the first time. He told her he was coming, and even sent her a photo of his travel papers, but when he arrived at Changsha airport, she was nowhere to be seen.

Convinced something was holding Zhang off, but that she would eventually arrive to meet him, Cirk decided to wait for her in the airport. Photos gone viral on Chinese social media show the Dutchman patiently waiting on one of the benches, barefoot and with his baggage by his side. With each passing day, his hopes of meeting his Chinese sweetheart deteriorated, and so did his health. After 10 days spent in Changsha airport, Peter Cirk was exhausted and had to be hospitalized. One photo shows him being taken away in a wheelchair with an IV drip in his arm.

After this failed loved story went viral, Chinese reporters quickly tracken down Zhang and asked her why she didn’t show up to meet her online boyfriend. She admitted that Cirk had told her he was coming to see her, but she thought he was only kidding. “We had advanced our romantic relationship but later he seemed a little callous toward me. One day he sent me a photo of air tickets abruptly and I thought it was a joke,” she claimed. “He didn’t contact me later.”

Only it turns out Peter had left her messages online, only he didn’t know that she had traveled to another city for plastic surgery. She added that she still wanted to continue their romance, and would meet the Dutchman when she recovers from her operation.

Meanwhile, Peter has already flown back to his native Netherlands and it’s unclear if he is willing to take a chance on Zhang again.

via CCTV News