A unique story that emerged from China has shown to what extent loneliness can affect a person emotionally. An 84-year-old woman became so deeply attached to a fictional character created by AI (Artificial Intelligence) that she started considering him as her special companion. This matter has now become a big topic of discussion among the people.
Who is this “Bossy President” character?
The center of this story is Zhang Yulan, who hails from Hubei province. He was obsessed with “Bossy President” type AI characters. In China such characters are called *Ba Zong*; In romantic stories, she is often shown as a strict, but caring personality. Zhang’s relationship with one such digital character—named Jianguo—became so intense that she spent hours every day watching its videos. Gradually this attachment grew deeper, and she started considering him an important part of her life.
A relationship born from video
Zhang began spending more than ten hours every day watching videos featuring this AI character. As time went on, she began to feel a true emotional connection with the character—a connection so deep that she even considered marrying him. This attachment was not limited to entertainment only; He had created a completely different world (reality) in his mind around that character.
A love letter revealed the secret of the heart
In February, Zhang also sent Jianguo a hand-written love letter. In that letter he apologized to Jianguo and asked whether he was angry with him, or whether he no longer felt the same way about him as he did before. She also wrote that, even though he had a bit of a domineering nature and did not always listen to her, she still believed that open communication was very important in any relationship. This letter is a living proof of the depth of their emotional connection.
How did his family come to know about this?
Zhang’s family became aware of the entire situation when they noticed Zhang’s spending habits. He had spent more than 7,000 yuan (about Rs 95,000) on the online store related to this AI character. Additionally, they purchased some items at very high prices—items that were available at much lower prices on other platforms. After this, her granddaughter also filed a complaint regarding this matter.
Administration took action
Even before this matter came to light, China’s Cyberspace Administration had suspended Jianguo’s account in February. This action was taken as part of a campaign to curb the increasing irregularities on the Internet.
