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[podcaster] And we're back.
This next story may sound familiar,
especially if you are one of the 70 million people
who lose their cell phones each year.
Maybe you were out, and all of a sudden,
when you reach for your phone, it's gone.
You hope for a good Samaritan to find it and return it,
but no such luck.
So you vow to be more careful next time,
and you buy a new phone.
End of story.
Well, not for BuzzFeed writer Matt Stopera.
My name is Matt Stopera, and I make things on the internet.
I'm so embarrassed.
I've been working at BuzzFeed basically since it began,
and I've always been a little obsessed with celebrity.
My whole childhood revolved around Britney Spears.
When I was 14 years old,
MTV came to my house because
I was such a big Britney Spears fan.
Personally, I think Britney is still a virgin.
Still my proudest moment of my entire life.
So anyway, last year, I was sitting at this bar,
and I put my phone on the table.
It gets swiped.
So the next day, I go out and buy a new phone.
Everything's totally normal with it for like a year,
until these pictures start showing up on it.
Pictures of fireworks, people riding motorcycles,
tons of selfies, you know,
about 40 selfies of a guy with an orange tree.
[reporter] An unfamiliar face in an unknown setting.
That's exactly what Matt Stopera discovered
while scrolling through his photo stream
on his iPhone last month.
[Matt] And I was like, well, shit, I got hacked,
which is like an old person's thing to think.
But a year after Matt lost his phone,
he started noticing a bunch of photos on his new iPhone.
Pictures that he had not taken.
Like for example, this menu and lots of storefronts.
[Matt] And I just remember being like, you know what,
I should do a BuzzFeed post on this.
That BuzzFeed story that Matt had written
became a sensation in China.
[speaking other language]
Apparently everybody and their brother in China
read the story and went on a hunt
for the guy in front of the orange tree.
[Matt] I went to bed that night,
and everything has been different ever since.
The Chinese internet found my story,
and someone in China had translated it
and put it on Weibo,
which is like the Chinese version of Twitter.
Then they find out where my phone is.
The fact that they were able to find one guy
out of like 1.3 billion people
in less than 24 hours is insane.
It just completely blows my mind.
The Chinese internet had given him the name Brother Orange
because he took a ton of selfies
in front of an orange tree.
Brother Orange had bought my phone in China,
but my iCloud was still connected to it.
So whenever he took pictures on my old phone,
they would show up on my new phone.
At first I was like really freaked out.
I was like, why are these pictures showing up on my phone?
I never put two and two together
that it was my stolen phone from over a year ago,
and that my iCloud was still connected.
My phone is actually in China,
and my stolen iPhone is still alive.
It was like something had come back from the dead.
Someone like actually freaked me out again and was like,
you have to, like, they could be accessing your information.
And that's when I went to the Apple store and, you know,
did the kill switch on that phone.
Chinese Twitter loved this.
They made me a meme, which is hilarious.
And one of the top comments I always get is come to China,
come to China, come to China.
I feel super lucky I have an invitation
to this part of China that no one's ever heard of.
My phone literally ended up from this place
and to southern China to Brother Orange.
It's absolutely insane.
[laughing]
It's always so awkward when someone, like...
watches you take a selfie because
it's the most embarrassing thing that you can do.
I have no idea what's going to happen
or what it's going to be like in Brother Orange's town,
what we're going to do and how we're going to talk
and what I'm going to eat.
The Internet really wants us to meet and--
and I'm just happy to give the Internet what they want,
which is literally what I do for a living anyway.
So I've worked at BuzzFeed for like seven years now.
So I've seen, you know, memes come and go.
And for once, I'm the meme.
But I'm the meme in China.
So I think it's written in history that
I was the first person to make a BuzzFeed list.
I'm basically a professional list writer.
Yes, we exist.
I'm a Leo Sun.
I'm Cap Moon and Libra Rising.
I'm obsessed with organization and very routine oriented.
But if you know me, then the Leo comes out
and that's how my closest besties know me more so
as outgoing and the less Capricorn Moon,
which is just like literally making lists all the time.
If you go on the Internet in the U.S.,
you will know within one Google search of my name
how gay I am. It's no secret.
It's part of my identity online.
I write about it all the time.
So I've had some people be like, oh, I know that you're gay.
I just want to say, like, you should be careful.
China is like the 1980s in the U.S. right now
in terms of the way that they treat gay people.
The messages that I've been getting from people who are gay,
some of them say, oh, well, don't be worried.
People in China are very friendly.
So I've been kind of getting mixed messages
in terms of what to expect.
I'm not going to come off the plane and, like...
bust into my "Oops! ...I Did It Again", dance routine.
If I do end up coming out to him,
it's going to be very gradual if we even get along, period.
[reporter] Brother Orange then invited Matt from BuzzFeed
to go to China,
said he'd cook him a nice meal if he showed up.
[speaking other language]
One of the things that I've learned through this is that
the Chinese really believe in fate
and like that things are meant to be.
So the fact that, you know,
me, some guy who lives in New York
and then Brother Orange, some guy who lives in southern China,
can be connected by a thread is just like very--
it's like more than coincidence.
Like it's kind of like a meant to be type thing.
Oh, my God.
So this is the super rough Google translation.
They're going to take us to sing Hakka folk songs,
eat salt baked chicken,
hot mud baths,
drinking changle burning?
OK, so I have to figure out what that word is,
picking beans and Hakka cuisine.
And so Brother Orange is a chef or owns a restaurant.
He does something with food.
And so we kind of have no idea what's going to happen.
We just canceled our hotel plans.
We're supposed to meet some man in the airport.
I don't even think it's going to be him.
And we're just going to like play it by ear
and see kind of what happens.
I want to say...
I'm going to say, like,
this is going to be a trip of a lifetime.
I kind of have no idea what's going to happen
when we actually meet
and how we're actually going to communicate
and talking through another person
is going to be super bizarre because we have a translator.
And so, I don't really know how that works.
I've never used someone else to talk to someone else.
Wo ai ni means I love you.
Memeda means kisses.
Ten.
And I have no idea the value of money in China.
Does anyone? It's like I'm never going to figure it out.
But like, see, I have these oranges all over the place now
and these are like my countdown oranges.
One more day.
I'm still not packed, but I'm getting there.
We are in Chinatown.
Right now, we're having a Bro Orange name thing,
I wanted them made just for him that says "Bro Orange."
Brother Orange was too long, so we got exactly Bro Orange.
But like he goes by Bro Orange sometimes,
so it's totally fine, it's not going to be weird.
Bro Orange.
I want him to have the best thing and I'm like,
"Is he going to like that?" Like and I have no idea.
It is literally like a first date.
I'm trying to figure out which candy to bring,
to steal from the BuzzFeed office and to bring to China.
And I don't know, do they have raisins?
[producer] Show us the journey over the next couple of days.
So basically, you go here
and then for some reason, we have to fly to Detroit
and then we go,
I think the way it goes is like that.
In Meizhou, so we'll be like right in here
where it's supposed to be very hot and humid
and wet and rainy season.
I think that's it.
It's like Jack Dawson going to the Titanic
and like having no idea
and just buying his ticket like the day before.
It's very much that in this moment
and just hopping on this plane to China
and having no idea what's going to happen.
So, I have this 20-hour journey ahead of me.
Go to Detroit, then to Beijing, where we pick up the translator.
Sorry. Let's first get--
And then we go to this place called [indistinct],
where Brother Orange's relative or someone with a car
is going to pick us up there
and take us to Brother Orange.
[speaking other language]
All right.
One, two, three, cheese!
So, we met on the plane.
- She recognized me from Weibo. - Hi.
And um, yeah, we had a little chat on the plane
and we just arrived.
In [indistinct] and we're going to get picked up
and... yeah.
It was nice meeting you.
Oh, my God.
[Qingqing] Did you see the camera over there?
It's for you.
[Matt] It's the craziest thing
I've ever seen in my entire life.
I feel like Britney Spears.
Oh, my God.
My heart is like out of my chest right now.
This is so...
This is so weird. Oh, my God.
I'm nervous now.
Hi, everybody. Oh, my God. Brother Orange.
Hey, so nice to meet you.
Welcome to China.
Yeah, thank you.
Welcome to Meizhou.
Thank you so much.
My town, my town. How do you do?
- Great. - How do you do, how do you do?
- How do you do? - Okay.
- For you. - [Matt laughing]
Oh, thank you.
Uh, ni hao.
- Ni hao. - Ni hao. Ni hao.
[reporter] Is everything the way you expected?
I'm overwhelmed.
Overwhelmed.
- I just got off the plane. - Uh-huh.
It took me 20 hours to get here.
Very long time.
What's the expectation with this trip?
I'm just so excited to meet Brother Orange,
and to see China, and to see Meizhou, and to just...
I've never been to China before. It's been a dream of mine.
And now this is happening.
This is-- this is amazing.
[speaking other language]
He's so happy to meet you here.
I know! You surprised me!
[speaking other language]
Yeah.
[speaking other language]
[Matt] Thank you for meeting me here.
Oh, what is that?
That's your face!
Yeah, that was so cool!
I like you when you smile more
because in the pictures on my phone, you're very serious.
[speaking other language]
Could he see my pictures on that phone?
[speaking other language]
No way!
I had no idea that my pictures were being sent to you, too.
[Camby] Yeah, but he deleted them later.
Because he also felt very confused.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was very confused.
[speaking other language]
I put it on the table, someone came in, walked out.
[speaking other language]
Yeah, yeah.
[speaking other language]
[Matt] Ahh.
[speaking other language]
I didn't think of it. The internet thought of it.
And then they gave it to you,
and then Brother Orange ever since.
[speaking other language]
[Camby] It's a really good name.
I think it's good, too. I love it.
[Camby] Orange in China is really a lucky name.
But orange means blessing.
- [Matt] Ah. - [Camby] Blessing.
[speaking other language]
[Matt] Okay, so I'm not good with chopsticks.
[laughing]
[speaking other language]
And then...
[speaking other language]
This is the most embarrassing thing.
Wow, yeah, yeah. That's good, actually.
[speaking other language]
Oh, my God, it's so good.
[Qingqing] I'll take one where you eat, okay?
- [indistinct] - [Matt] Thank you so much.
Yeah.
[speaking other language]
Thank you, Bro.
So weird.
I sat down and I was like, whoa.
They're just welcoming you like a superstar here.
So weird.
Someone just sent me this clip
and this happened like 20 minutes ago, maybe?
Crazy.
I think tomorrow's the big meet-up.
Because then I just got another message.
"I look forward to meeting you tomorrow."
And so, I think tomorrow's the day
that they told everyone that we're going to like, that's--
So, I got a selfie stick, I think,
is going to be a big thing for me tomorrow.
I think that'll be like my thing.
[cameraman] Okay, enjoy your sleep.
Holy shit. Wait, is your room the same?
[cameraman] I don't have this whole, like--
[laughter]
That's so funny that I have a better room.
Oh, but the worst part.
The handshake hug.
I didn't know if he was going to be real--
He's really touchy, so like,
that's fine that I know that now
because now it's fun because now we're like pals and buds.
But like at first I was like handshake hug.
It was like we did that thing and it was like it was bad.
But then he was so good in the spotlight.
It like makes me nervous.
He's like actually way better at it than me.
- I'm so used to the cold. - [Qingqing] Yeah.
We have team shirts now.
We all got Has.
- Ha. - Ha ha.
[Matt] This is the first day of the China trip
and apparently, we're going to some ceremony.
"Welcome Matt."
Oh, my.
- [firecrackers crackling] - Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Still have the [indistinct].
[speaking other language]
- [Matt laughing] - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[speaking other language]
[indistinct]
[speaking other language]
He's going to return the phone to you.
- Oh. - [laughter]
[speaking other language]
Show-- show the reporters.
[reporter] What are you going to do with this phone?
I feel like I should put it in a case.
Hang it in my house.
This phone has brought me such joy and luck.
And I can't believe that
it's all because of this phone that I'm here right now.
What advice would you be giving to other people
who've lost their phones?
Something magical could happen.
And you never know what's going to happen.
You never know who you can meet.
And language has no boundaries anymore.
So, that's part of the biggest thing.
[Qingqing] So, this is the hashtag
they are using for the Weibo account.
And it means Orange Brother and Matt travel together in Meizhou.
So, we can let fans know what we're doing now.
So, um, he wants to have a family photo with you.
Oh, of course.
[Camby] It's an orange family.
[speaking other language]
[Camby] This is a gift for you.
Wow.
- [Qingqing] So pretty. - It's beautiful.
It's beautiful.
This is so cool.
Wow.
[cameraman] I have a question for Brother Orange
while we're here.
In the selfies, you looked much more serious than in life.
Look, you're smiling.
[speaking other language]
Wow. Famous trees.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
So, he changed the name of his restaurant
to have Orange Brother?
Because it says "Orange Brother..."
No. He still keeps his restaurant's original name,
but he adds Brother Orange on the top of it.
- [Matt] Wow. - [Camby] Yeah.
[speaking other language]
[Camby] Yeah, about two years ago, the boat was placed.
- It was floating just up there. - [Matt] Wow.
[speaking other language]
[Camby] Yeah, yeah, yeah. The small bridge.
[speaking other language]
And after the flood things--
After the flood, the government decided to ask them
to move their boat there.
Wow.
So, the boat has been there for one year and one month.
The level of the water was here.
Whoa!
Yeah, they were scared.
Wow.
[speaking other language]
[Camby] Have you ever heard of this place before?
No. I've never--
- [speaking other language] - No, no.
[speaking other language]
Ah.
Okay, I'm supposed to...
This is going to be like the striptease.
[speaking other language]
[Camby] Just lay down. Lay down.
- [cameraman] Sit down. - Whoa.
[jaunty classical music]
[Matt laughing]
♪
[Matt] There was like, 25 people watching us,
taking pictures of us.
Right now, I don't really have plans
to come out to Brother Orange.
I haven't really talked about it either.
Uh, and the only thing
that can really ruin this amazing experience
is if I came out to him and he acted negatively
because, uh, that would suck.
Okay.
Oh, there was a giant water jug in here.
The thing is,
people have been coming in and out of this room,
which is really weird.
Like, there was a big old water jug right here.
And then...
That's bigger than the one than it was earlier.
I'm not lying.
So, there's this Weibo photographer following us
and all of his pictures are like oddly sexual.
And always, it's me and Brother Orange.
I'm making like orgasmic faces.
Earlier today, there was like this guy and he said,
he said, "Kiss, kiss, kiss."
And I was like, "Buddy, chill."
I forgot. There was that whole--
We met his family today and his family was very sweet
and I forgot to compliment his wife.
It's funny how he's never mentioned his wife once.
And I've kind of asked.
I have asked.
Look, I turned it on.
And so, it's just crazy.
I guess it's good luck?
I don't know.
What does it mean if you lose your cell phone
and then go on this incredible journey
where you turn into a like quasi-famous Chinese celebrity?
Is that a good luck charm?
All right. Such a crazy day.
Now, we eat dinner.
[slurping]
Five emojis.
I've never eaten food like this before.
- Just stick inside and-- - Oh.
Like a clam.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Like a clam.
- All right. Here we go. - [Camby] Yeah.
I'm not gonna look at it.
[speaking other language]
So, was he waiting for pictures to show up?
- [laughing] - I was. I was for him.
[speaking other language]
He wants to see something naked.
[Matt laughing]
None of that. Yeah.
[speaking other language]
We will make a schedule.
Some media company. Oh, I see.
Tomorrow, we will have a press conference.
- A press conference? - Yes.
- At the city center. - At the city center.
- Welcome ceremony. - [Matt] Oh, wow.
He said, "You have to get to the press conference at 11
or else it could look bad for Matt."
Meaning, it would be,
the story would be Matt shows up late for a press conference,
which is also amazing.
We keep on hearing about a media company.
I don't really understand what is going on.
The media company took care of everything.
Not many Westerners go to Meizhou.
I think they just saw this as an opportunity
to really put themselves on the map.
Hello. Hi.
Hello!
[cheering]
[speaking other language]
It's just an amazing story.
Everyone dreams of meeting a person
on the other side of the world in a different culture.
And everyone has a cell phone.
When I go back to America,
I will tell them that Meizhou is a beautiful place.
[applause]
[speaking other language]
[applause]
[woman] One, two, three.
This is the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life.
- Really? - I'm freaking out right now.
There's eight photoshoots happening right now.
All I want is a wedding picture.
The Brother Orange has suggest that he will marry--
he will marry Matt here.
[humming "Wedding March"]
[Matt] The thing is, Brother Orange is playing along
with this whole thing, and he's getting very into it,
which is really fun.
This is amazing.
[speaking other language]
[phone playing foreign language]
- This is a good shot. - Yeah.
[Matt laughing]
Wow.
[speaking other language]
[Qingqing] They're talking about the trip.
[Camby] Since the broadcast of CCTV,
the number one television station in China,
Matt is a household name in China now.
That just say welcome to Brother and Matt?
What's my name?
- Ma Te. - That's Ma Te?
That's Ma, means horse.
Te means special, special horse.
- I mean special horse? - See?
[Matt laughing]
[speaking other language]
[Matt laughing]
I love all my fans, regardless of age.
Regardless.
Because I know that I'm a public figure right now,
I have to accept
that people are going to take my picture wherever I go.
And I don't blame them.
I love seeing famous people.
I just want to tell Britney, like, I understand 2007, like,
I understand what was going through your head at that time.
You're an object, and you realize that,
and people just can do whatever they want.
[speaking other language]
There is no off time when you're a celebrity.
I love all of them. I love all of them.
Why do these people care about me?
Hi!
[Matt] There's so much happening with this.
Everyone in China has a smartphone.
There's just as many people with iPhones in China
than there are in America that I've seen on this trip.
Everyone always has their phone on them.
So, it's there with you all the time.
It's your phone.
And to think then it becomes someone else's phone.
It's just... [mimicking explosion]
Ni hao, ni hao. I'm excited.
Amazing.
[man singing in foreign language]
[singing in foreign language]
[man singing in foreign language]
- Woo! - Woo!
- Great! - Great.
[Matt laughing]
Thank you!
[speaking other language]
I'm good. A little bit.
I know, I know, I can tell.
I know, me too, me too. It's his friend's fault.
[speaking other language]
But you're both happy, right?
Happy, happy, happy.
- Right, happy. - Happy means--
[speaking other language]
He's really, really happy.
Happy... [speaking other language]
Very happy, very happy.
Holy, what just happened?
I was just, like, breaking it down,
and then I was like, I was going to do, like, this weird,
like, twerk move.
But then I was like, all right, I can't do that.
So I just did.
And then he would do it with me.
That was so funny.
[cameraman] And he kissed you at the end.
Yeah, that, I wasn't expecting.
I was like, "Wait, is this allowed?"
I don't know.
Ugh. So weird.
So, this girl right here
is staying in the room two doors down.
And she was, like, very sweet on Weibo.
And then she suddenly said that she was taking a bus
five hours to come here.
And then she sent me a bunch of audio messages
that said that she was staying,
that she checked into the same hotel
that we're at right now.
And then gave me these bullhorns.
I don't know what to do.
It's very, very weird. It makes me feel uncomfortable.
It was-- it was honestly all fun and games until this,
like, really creepy thing happened.
And then it was like, fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I'm in another country on the other side of the world.
And there's nothing I can really do about this.
On display, on display, on display.
We've both been thrust into the spotlight at the same time.
And so, we're the only ones that could really understand
what it's like to have everyone ask for your time, basically.
So I think that's part of the thing why we're growing closer,
just because of this shared experience that we're having.
[speaking other language]
[Qingqing] Face? I don't see the face.
I see the face.
[speaking other language]
[Matt laughing]
[speaking other language]
[indistinct]
[speaking other language]
[both growling and laughing]
[speaking other language]
It does look like a monkey.
[speaking other language]
[shouting]
[speaking other language]
♪ Oh, hey ♪
[speaking other language]
♪ Oops, I did it again ♪
Yeah.
♪ I played with your heart ♪
♪ Oh play de ho ♪
[Matt laughing]
♪ Got lost ♪
♪ In the game ♪
♪ Oh, baby, baby ♪
- [Matt laughing] - Yes!
[soft orchestral music]
Hey!
Dragon and rabbit, next to each other.
I wish to be friends with Brother Orange forever.
[speaking other language]
We've moved on in our relationship
me and Brother Orange,
where we're comfortable with awkward silences.
Everyone knows that's the first step to a friendship,
is when you don't have to say anything.
Archery.
So, I have my own hashtag for this trip.
Oh, so my hashtag's been viewed like 45 million times,
which is a lot.
And they're all like, "Stay in China longer.
You have to, like, come to China.
You can't just go to this one place.
You have to go to other places."
So, a lot of people are kind of upset.
And since today is the last day, people are, like, pretty upset.
Yeah, yesterday was the most intense day.
It was the day that Brother Orange wanted all along.
And I'm happy that he saved it for the end
because it was really special.
And then to be shown all of the rooms
in his old house was a moment.
[speaking other language]
Usually [indistinct].
- Yeah. - Because he...
- [speaking other language] - ...had a disease.
- Oh. - And he should take care of her
so he came back to Wuhan to open a restaurant here.
- Oh. - [Camby] Good son.
[Matt] Yeah. Good son, right?
Very good son.
[baby babbling in foreign language]
[speaking other language]
[happy orchestral music]
- [speaking other language] - No way.
[girl laughing]
[somber orchestral music]
[speaking other language]
[indistinct] for the [indistinct].
For the-- And sisters.
[speaking other language]
[cameraman] Has he ever burned these [indistinct]?
[Camby] No.
There's no ceremony burning these things in America?
- No. - No?
No, not at all.
So, how do you-- how do you do the ceremony?
We don't really have ceremonies like this.
Yeah, we don't--
[speaking other language]
I guess we don't really honor our ancestors that much.
Oh.
Oh, you guys don't honor ancestors like this?
- Not like this. No. - [cameraman] Not like this.
[Camby] But you do.
I guess.
Okay.
Now, I am.
♪
[Matt] That was really personal,
especially after we were just at his mother and father's house.
That was the moment when you realize,
"Okay, this isn't, like, a joke anymore.
Like, this is actually developing
to something truly real."
You're like, "Wow, I'm, like, part of this family."
It's really unexpected.
Uncle. Uncle. Uncle.
[speaking other language]
- Uncle. - [kid] Uncle.
Yay!
[Camby] She was the person who took the pictures
of the woman riding the motorcycle.
[Qingqing] Ah.
[Camby] And the weird-- weird stores.
Wow.
[Camby] Chinese people like him,
with his education background,
it's really hard to make a living, actually.
But he keeps fighting.
He's still struggling to keep his restaurant running.
There's something awesome.
Just for that, I need to toast to him.
Bon voyage.
Ah! Bon voyage.
Mm. Ah.
[speaking other language]
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
China, America. Friends forever.
[Matt] Yes.
So, we're about to give Bro Orange his gifts.
So, we have to make--
Also, we fucked up his size big time.
These are XLs. That's why I'm embarrassed.
We got Brother Orange a little something.
So, this is the company that I work for.
[Camby] Wow. [speaking other language]
Thank you, thank you.
Yes.
And then, and then-- Haha, you look cool.
I love New York.
[Qingqing] Aw. Oh, my God!
Oh, my God!
Yeah.
[speaking other language]
So, we had this made.
[Camby] Bro Orange.
- [Camby] Wow. - It says Bro--
[Bro Orange] Wow!
[speaking other language]
Wow. Yeah.
Happy, happy, happy, happy.
[Camby] Brothers.
[speaking other language]
[Camby] He's so impressed.
I'm so impressed. I'm with you.
Thank you.
Wow. I gotta get some beer
to celebrate this moment.
Wow.
So right now, we just found out Bro's coming to Beijing with us.
Very excited.
And Qingqing is dealing with that right now.
We're booking a plane ticket.
Our plane leaves in a couple hours.
Creep shot.
That's one of my favorite things.
The baby.
This looks familiar.
- [speaking other language] - What's that?
[speaking other language]
Oh.
That's crazy that-- Yeah.
- [speaking other language] - Wow.
Wow, that's funny how I somehow noticed that.
[speaking other language]
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Only had four hours sleep.
[upbeat orchestral music]
[Matt] Two, three, four!
♪
Beijing!
One of the things that's so special is that
he came to Beijing and Qingqing is telling us
that it's kind of like a rite of passage
to go to Tiananmen Square.
Oh, wow.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[Matt] He was so happy.
I can't believe that I got to do that with him.
You happy, me happy.
- You happy, me happy. - Happy, happy, happy.
[speaking other language]
- What I-- - [speaking other language]
If you said--
If you said at the beginning of this
that I would be crying at the end of--
at the end of this, I would think that you were insane.
I really feel like I understand
how the Chinese believe in fate,
and destiny after this.
I really feel like, how could this not be fate?
I don't want to leave this world.
It's such a-- I don't...
I-- I want this world to go on.
I'm freaking out.
Now I have the host nervousness,
where it's like when you have a party,
and you have a party at your house for the first time,
and you're like, holy shit, I want it to be a good party.
[speaking other language]
Now pretend you're singing.
[speaking other language]
[groaning]
I'm so stressed out right now.
[shouting]
Hey, hey!
[speaking other language]
I can't believe it.
Welcome to our...
[speaking other language]
- [speaking other language] - [laughing]
[speaking other language]
He didn't think it was going to be this bad.
[speaking other language]
Just try a little bit, I'm curious what you think.
Let's try it.
Yeah.
Yeah! Yeah!
[speaking other language]
Yes, that's what I did.
That's what I did, yeah.
[speaking other language]
This is on backwards.
That's what I did in China.
That's exactly what I did.
[speaking other language]
[Matt] We have fun with each other.
Without words, you can still have fun and laugh at things.
And you know, you notice things, and you'll point at it,
and you'll be like, look at that thing.
This is Obama.
[Matt] Yeah, I don't know, he's just a really fun guy.
Bro likes some muscle guys.
[speaking other language]
I also love Matt.
[speaking other language]
You're famous, you know that?
Everybody recognizes you now.
It's a fantastic story.
I've been to China, the fact you guys became best friends...
That's just an awesome story.
Yeah, very special.
So I'm glad to see you, welcome, have a great time.
Watching Bro eat with a fork is like watching me use chopsticks.
- Because-- - [indistinct] too crunchy.
This is officially now beyond anything
I could have ever imagined.
Tomorrow we're meeting Britney in Vegas.
It's just-- I can't even...
it's so crazy.
I'm trying to show him things that are important
and I think that I've made it pretty clear.
Seeing Britney in Vegas and also taking Bro
to see Britney in Vegas is like such a big thing for me.
And now that we actually get to meet her I cannot wait.
You know, Planet Hollywood is literally my church.
That's where Britney performs a couple nights a week.
That's happening tonight
and very soon and we got tickets
and our tickets are sick and I can't wait
and we're going to meet Britney's tonight.
It's where the "Oops! ...I Did It Again" outfit is.
The fact that he was bowing to the outfits
was awesome and cool.
Oh my god, you guys are amazing!
I know, that's why [indistinct].
[shouting indistinctly]
Are you ready?
Yeah! One, two, three!
[cheering]
- What's your name? - Matt.
Give it up for Matt, everybody!
Thank you for dancing with us.
He's amazing, he's amazing.
He had the time of his life,
he could have been bored and he...
he's meant so much to me that he was here.
So cool.
[cheering]
[Matt] We're in D.C.,
waiting for our connecting flight to Albany.
We're going home.
My family's picking us up at the airport.
My parents are saying that they have like
over 50 people that are coming by tomorrow which is insane.
My mother.
[speaking indistinctly]
Wow, nice to meet you!
[indistinct]
- Yeah, yeah. - [laughing]
- These are for you! - [indistinct]
- Hello! - Oh, wow!
[speaking other language]
[Matt] If you only have a day where you grew up
and lived for 18 years, what would you show someone?
[speaking other language]
This is my high school.
Wow, weird. I haven't been in here in a long time.
[speaking other language]
Yay! [applauding]
[speaking other language]
[chuckling] Yeah!
Meanwhile, I'm in the background.
No, don't touch the ball!
See this church?
[Bro] Oh.
[speaking other language]
Am I a Buddhist? No.
I was raised a Catholic.
I went to that church sometimes.
[cheering]
- Yeah! - Yeah.
You got it. You got it, man!
[cheering]
Yeah.
[chuckling]
[laughing]
[Matt] So is Bro nice?
Yeah, he's nice.
Even in Chinese.
[speaking other language]
Like, growing up at home he speaks, like, local dialect.
But once he go to formal schooling,
then they start to speak Mandarin.
[speaking other language]
He's asking if we need to [indistinct]
No, no, no.
We're at my parents' house
and they put [indistinct] Britney outside
because I wouldn't let them get rid of
all of my Britney Spears stuff
so I have a bunch of stand-ups still left here,
just in the garage.
Hi!
It says, "Welcome Bro Orange".
- Matt? - No!
[speaking other language]
Didi. Is that how you say--
- Yeah, little brother. - Didi.
[speaking other language]
They are brutally honest.
[speaking other language]
This is my grandmother.
[speaking other language]
- Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.
I saw the Ellen clip.
She said, okay, I'm going to call you Brother Orange.
[Matt] I never thought in a million years that
I would see that group of people together in one room.
Half of those people I haven't seen in 10 years.
It's weird how you can be super social without speaking a word.
You know, just with the way that he interacts
and the way he laughs and runs around
and uses his hands.
[speaking other language]
It made me feel really good and really special
and it makes me thankful for Bro that he was able to do that
because otherwise that party would have never happened.
Thank you.
And that's Matt.
[both giggling]
He was a cute baby.
Matt.
[giggling]
- [speaking other language] - Very [indistinct].
- Matt posing. - [speaking other language]
[laughing] And Chris.
[speaking other language]
I have a problem telling
their baby pictures apart, Matt and David.
Family.
[speaking other language]
One...
[speaking other language]
[laughing] - Forget it, Matthew.
- [laughing] - I-- I really--
I love this one.
It's embarrassing. I haven't come out to him.
It's embarrassing.
I think he's going to react badly.
That's what everyone always thinks when they come out.
Um...
You know, I hope he doesn't but you never know.
Yeah, I'm putting it off.
So, two days ago I tweeted,
"Brother Orange, me, and a living legend #BritneySpears
Thank you Planet Hollywood for making dreams come true."
Thank you.
And then 11 minutes ago, Britney tweeted at us,
"Oh, I love these pics.
Hope you and Bro Orange enjoyed the show.
Thanks for dancing with me."
I am dying.
This is the weirdest thing ever.
This guy from China named Brother Orange who is my friend
and who I spend all of my time with now
and I met Britney Spears.
I danced on stage with her because of him.
Oh, so crazy.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - [indistinct]
[speaking other language]
- This is it. - [laughing]
This is where.
[speaking other language]
Someone-- wait, wait, wait.
[indistinct]
Wow.
This is a very special place now.
A very lucky place.
Lucky spot.
[chuckling]
[Matt] It's insane.
I got chills.
[speaking other language]
[laughing]
[woman] You're the dude!
I'm so excited. This is awesome.
- Welcome. - [Matt] Thank you.
You guys wanna do a shot?
[speaking other language]
[laughing]
Thank you, thank you. Bye, thank you.
He's like, I'm never having those shots again.
♪
This is so funny, bro...
[speaking other language]
How do you say squirrel in...
[speaking other language]
I hate [indistinct].
[speaking other language]
Wow.
[speaking other language]
You buying me that?
[laughing] No problem.
[both laughing]
[speaking other language]
I want to be Blair.
You can be Serena. Okay?
[speaking other language]
[laughing]
♪
[speaking other language]
Oh, does it say Guangzhou?
Wow.
- [laughing] - Hey, guys.
You're the famous Orange Brother, right?
- This is him. - Oh, my God.
So famous.
I definitely want a picture with you guys.
Oh, my God.
You already traveled from China.
[speaking other language]
You guys took a picture for us?
[speaking other language]
Thank you, guys.
[speaking other language]
The first BuzzFeed office.
167 Canal.
Awesome. Thank you.
[shouting]
[cheering]
[indistinct conversation]
[laughing]
[speaking other language]
[laughing]
[speaking other language]
Watching you and Matt together everywhere.
I feel like I already know you.
[laughing]
Matt was an intern when he first came and joined,
and we were maybe...
seven people, something like that.
And now how many do we have?
Now we're almost a thousand people.
Did you show him our old office?
Yeah, we did. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- We used to be in Chinatown. - Yeah.
Everything in the building was mahjong, except BuzzFeed.
When we leave late at night,
you just hear the tiles shaking in the building.
[speaking other language]
Is that why you switched to this office?
[laughing]
Welcome, and have a good time, and we'll have a party tonight.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[cheering]
Oh.
[Matt] I had to come out to Bro at the time I did
because it was literally the last moment
that I had to because we were going to a party
where my boyfriend was going to be at.
I mean, in that moment, my heart was jumping out of my chest.
It was like all of these crazy emotions at one moment.
[indistinct]. Bro, I gotta tell you something.
I have a boyfriend, not a girlfriend,
and he's going to be at the party,
and you're going to meet him.
[speaking other language]
I was nervous to tell him.
[speaking other language]
[laughing]
I was very nervous to tell him.
[speaking other language]
[laughing]
[speaking other language]
Oh...
[laughing]
Okay?
- Okay? - Okay, okay, okay.
Okay, I guess that's it. Moving on.
Now let's have fun. [laughing]
[speaking other language]
It's really no big deal.
As long as two people really love each other,
- it doesn't matter what gender. - Aww!
[speaking other language]
Tell him I'm excited for him to meet my boyfriend, then.
[speaking other language]
- [Bro chuckling] - Yeah!
[indistinct conversation]
This is my boyfriend.
[Bro] Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
[laughing]
[speaking other language]
Whoa! [laughing]
I know.
[speaking other language]
[laughing]
♪
I can't.
[indistinct conversations]
Okay, [indistinct].
Oh, my God.
[speaking other language]
- Bye! - Bye.
[speaking other language]
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[both chattering]
[speaking other language]
Yeah!
I didn't have it too bad.
I just had a high fever,
but the worst part for me was that
I couldn't smell or taste for weeks.
[speaking other language]
It's good in New York City right now.
It's getting much better.
So, we're in my bedroom and, uh...
I can just say that not many people can say that
they're a sightseeing ambassador for a small Chinese town,
but I am the sightseeing ambassador for Cittaslow.
It's my version of the key to West Hollywood.
Okay, so this is the most important spot.
First, foremost, and most importantly, we have the phone.
I have it in, you know, like Beauty and the Beast
with the rose, was my inspiration.
And so, yeah, that's where it stays now, basically.
That's the phone, and--
[crew member] Right by the Britney doll.
Yeah, right by Bro and Britney.
Our main things in this house.
[speaking other language]
I love this picture of Bro because
this is like, pure joy on his face.
And then over here on my gallery wall, we have,
so this is my absolute favorite picture that we have of us.
And so this was taken by someone who was on the trip
and, uh, this to me, just like, it's like so funny
and so representative of the whole time.
Um, and then my maps.
So these are three of my favorite places.
Uh... So, of course we have China.
Now with COVID and everything, it's like you can't go back,
and like, there's so much mor that I want to see
and so much more that I want to do.
And also I just know his travel style now.
It's not the way...
it's not the craziness of the first trip.
It's actually very slow.
It's very much like, let's eat a big meal,
and then you need to take a nap.
After 2015, I ended up going back to China
a bunch of times. Like, more times.
Unexpectedly, this, like, one talk show
in China reached out and were like hey,
do you want to be on our talk show?
And I was like oh, okay.
So they flew me and Brother Orange to Changsha
in China and we were on this show called Day Day Up.
[speaking other language]
And then went back to China, where we won
our "Best Friends of the Year" at the Weibo awards.
And then I went back in 2018,
and that was my absolute favorite one,
because it was just, like, very chill.
You should come here to exercise.
[speaking other language]
[child chattering]
- [phone beeping] - Yes! Work it!
That's where we're at in terms of visiting, like, China now.
Like if we go there, I know where
the good breakfast spot is.
Hakka noodles. My absolute favorite thing.
So I mean when we were there, we went to Shenzhen,
we've been to Hong Kong, Beijing, Changsha.
[speaking other language]
Any time that I'm there, not only am I 10 hours
in a different time zone and my phone barely works,
but it's like, that disconnect is just so nice
and not something that I ever get here.
It's been, like, all the times
that we've hung out with each other now,
and it's like I just, like, can anticip--
I can tell you that, you know, he loves cilantro,
he hates spicy food.
Oh my god, if we talk about soccer.
Messi, oh my god, he doesn't shut up.
One time we were there, and we were eating
this, like, local candy, and he was like, you like this?
And I was like, yeah.
And he was like, okay cool, I'll sell it.
That type of, like, hustle that he has,
is really like--
I really admire that about him, is that he works really hard.
I mean, he's got four kids,
so he has a little bit more responsibility than me.
[speaking other language]
That's the number one thing people ask,
well how do you even talk with this guy?
And it's like, well I have this app,
and it's called WeChat, and he writes in Chinese,
I write in English, and then you press the button down,
and it translates for you, and it's magic.
And he sends a lot of, uh, pictures and videos.
[speaking other language]
This is the restaurant.
This is how it was, how we remember it.
And then, so then he sent, this is it now.
It will soon become one of these tall buildings.
The old farm is a memory.
[speaking other language]
This is something that we've been talking about together
for it seems like three, four years now,
and then it was just like, one day, he disappeared.
And so it's like, well, what do you do in this situation?
Because we're also dealing with China, and I don't know,
I don't want to get my friend in trouble,
I don't want to make the situation worse,
so it was just kind of like a,
I don't know what to do in this position,
and I also don't know who to trust in this position.
[speaking other language]
It's so crazy to me that someone could go to jail
for posting something on the internet,
and so I, it's scary.
Not a message that you get very often
out of the blue, that your friend is in jail,
and this time he's on the other side of the world.
[speaking other language]
It's weird sitting here just trying to describe it,
because how many times do you have to describe your--
your friendships?
You know, and why, and what it means,
instead of like, at the end of the day, it's like...
uh, we have fun with each other,
and we do fun things.
[speaking other language]
This will go on. It's gonna go on.
I said it six years ago,
and I knew it then.
It's-- it was just like,
there's no way this is just gonna stop.
This is my-- this is my once-in-a-lifetime thing,
you know? This is, like, the story of my life, and--
You know, it's so funny, 'cause it's like, people...
I'll always have a fun fact,
and my fun fact will always be,
well, let me tell you about that one time...
What country should we all visit together?
[speaking other language]
It is said that Australia is very good.
- Australia it is! - Yes!
Woohoo! Next stop Australia.
We can go swimming together.
[speaking other language]
[singing in other language]