Atoner for the broken hearts

Although emphasizing that business is business, Liu admits that the emotional support takes up a lot of time in his daily communication with potential clients.

He remembers a man from Baoding, Hebei, who contacted him to destroy his wedding photos immediately after the package was delivered. But, the next day, the man said the plan might change. The day after that, he texted: "My wife is back."

Since then, Liu has arranged a storage service for clients who are still on the fence about whether to move forward with the disposal.

Having heard hundreds of tales of betrayal, Liu says that his heart has hardened somewhat, but those of death, grief and loss still resonate.

In April last year, Liu posted a video on Douyin after a man asked him to shred a bunch of orange roses to say goodbye to his ex-girlfriend, who passed away during the COVID-19 pandemic. He recently got married to his new partner and need a sense of closure, but did not want to make his wife feel uncomfortable.

In December, a man called Liu to shred his wedding photos after the sudden death of his wife. The man asked Liu to conceal the faces carefully, because his parents-in-law hadn't yet learned the sad news.

"Every time I receive such requests, it touches my heart, and I hope my service can alleviate their grief," Liu says.

Since his business hit headlines, several film directors, authors and artists have contacted him seeking cooperation or inspiration. Liu rejects most of them, because he doesn't want the pain and suffering of others to become a commodity. An artist wanted to use the shredded pieces in an artwork, but Liu refused, to protect the privacy of his clients.

However, he has agreed to cooperate with A Mom, a Beijing-based charity that supports single mothers. When he receives clients who are single mothers, Liu will help the charity reach the ones in need.

While most comments on his video carry a positive attitude toward his business, some take a more acidic tone. A Douyin user named Dayangcong writes that it is an industry that "thrives on the soaring divorce rate". Another describes the service as "a mass grave for love".

No matter what people say about the business, Liu says that he feels a sense of achievement from the feedback he receives from his clients.

Although he hasn't yet made a profit from the business, Liu believes it is a promising market, which is not only about earning money, but also about repairing hearts that were once broken.