It’s not uncommon to find family outside your blood related kin. You’ll feel like these people slot perfectly into your life. Be it older or younger friends, they’ll eventually seem less like friends and more like family.
Singer Bridge (布瑞吉), real name Chen Jianqiao (程劍橋), may have joined China’s TV show “Call Me By Fire (披荆斩棘的哥哥)” to showcase his talents, but he wasn’t expecting to find a family! The 28-year-old was apparently ‘adopted’ by power couple Julian Cheung (张智霖) and Anita Yuen (袁詠儀).
During his appearance on the show “Amazing Performance (了不起的艺能)”, Bridge revealed some surprising but sweet news. Shortly after his elimination from “Call Me By Fire” in the 4th round, he received a message from Anita Yuen. “The first text message I received was from my ‘godmother’ (Anita),” he shared. “(She wrote): “I can’t bear you leaving (the show).”” Apparently, the duo were close as Bridge would often share his day with her when he rang her.
Anita wasn’t the only one doting on Bridge, however. Julian had previously shared his interest in accepting Bridge as a godson. Apparently, Julian had found Bridge “very good, sensible, smart and decent” during their collaboration on “Call Me By Fire”. Bridge admitted he hadn’t known about this until much later. He also felt it would be weird to refer to Julian as ‘godfather’ during the show. However, now that he’s left, Bridge is boldly calling Julian and Anita his godparents.
Netizens have been in two minds about the matter, although reception has been mostly positive. Most comments are cooing over how cute their relationship is. “Bridge is great,” one comment read while another said: “Treat (Bridge) well!” Others praised Julian and Anita for recognising the younger artist and taking him under their wing.
However, there were a few sourpusses. Most refused to believe the interaction was genuine and suspected it had been fabricated especially for the show. “(Anita) sent a text message and spoiled you?” one asked disbelievingly. “It is definitely (created) by the program’s group,” another said. “it doesn’t matter to Anita and Julian at all.” Few also pitched that the topic was trending on Weibo because someone in the business was backing it.
Well, we certainly hope its true! It would be nice to see artists looking out for one another and treating each other like family.
Although it’s sad that Bridge is no longer on “Call Me By Fire”, it’s nice to know he did get something out of it after all! One does wonder if he knows about the (joking) spat Anita had with Julian after a certain mambo incident… After all, it’s good to be in the know, especially since they’re ‘related’ now.
Checkout Bridge’s interview here:
Sources: Xuan (1)(2), YouTube, Weibo(1)(2)
