He Eats Vinegar

In the last episode when Da Wei plucked up the courage to talk to his object of affection, Xiao Lin, she turned her back on him. Simon feels sorry for Da Wei, and decides to find an opportunity to talk with Xiao Lin.

              zhēn de hǎo xǐ huān jié lún
Xiao Lin: 真的好喜欢杰伦。
               I really like Jay Chou.

             bié huā chī le ， wéi shí me bú zhēn xī shēn biān de rén ne
Simon：别花痴了， 为什么不珍惜身边的人呢？
             Don't be silly. Why not cherish the people next to you?

                  nǐ shuō de shì shuí ā
Xiao Lin：你说的是谁啊？
                 Who are you talking about?

            měi cì nǐ shuō xǐ huān bié rén ，dà wěi dōu huì chī cù
Simon: 每次你说喜欢别人，大伟都会吃醋。
            Whenever you say you like others, Da Wei gets so jealous.

"喜欢 xǐ huān" means "to like"; Xiao Lin says she likes Jay Chou, who is a superstar in China. "杰伦" is short for "周杰伦", and here Xiao Lin only uses his given name as an affectionate form of address. It is very common in China for people to refer to others by their given names when the subjects in question feel close to one another.

"花痴huā chī", literally meaning "obsessed with flowers", refers to females, mostly, who madly cling to their male partners and in some cases are unable to control themselves. In medical science, there is a condition known as Anthomania (an extravagant fondness of flowers). "花痴" does not simply refer to a crush, but rather a state of mind. It can be used as a noun, a verb or an adj.

In the last sentence, the phrase "吃醋chī cù" literally means "to eat vinegar", but it means "to be jealous of a rival in love". How did this phrase come about?

During the Tang Dynasty (618–907), there was a minister named Fang Xuanling. Fang was very afraid of his wife. One day, Emperor Taizong bestowed on Fang a concubine. Of course, Fang dared not accept her, so the emperor appointed his queen to counsel Mrs. Fang, but this also failed.

The emperor became incredibly angry. He bestowed on Mrs. Fang a poisonous wine and said, "Leave aside your jealousy if you want to live, or keep it and drink this poisonous wine!"

The emperor thought that this would scare Mrs. Fang, but she took the wine and drank it with tears in her eyes. He was shocked by the situation and exclaimed, "Let alone Xuanling; even I am afraid of such a woman."

In fact, the emperor had just tried to scare her with strong vinegar. However, the emperor unexpectedly scared himself, and from that point onwards, "eating vinegar" has come to mean being jealous of other lovers.