A Robot in the Orange Orchard
As the chairman of a successful technology company, Lu Sen (Connor Leong) often finds himself in large group settings. While he has no problem addressing any number of people, he has incredible difficulty with any sort of direct, physical contact. Suffering from a strange allergy which is only triggered by direct skin-to-skin contact, something as simple as a handshake could prove deadly. Without the ability to directly come into contact with others, Lu Kun is intrigued when he learns a doctor by the name of Fu Yang (Wang Fang) has created an incredibly lifelike robot companion dubbed “Friday” (Sun Qian). Willing to invest further in Dr. Fu Yang’s work, Lu Kun has requested Friday be delivered to his home so he can test out the full capabilities of this incredible creation. Though agreeing to Lu Kun’s request, the doctor is mortified when a last-minute technical issue renders his robot useless. Unable to bear the thought of losing both his credibility and his funding, he asks his former assistant, Yang Shan Shan (Sun Qian) to take the robot’s place, just long enough for him to get it up and running again. Being the real-life model for the robot’s looks, Shan Shan is identical to the robot in every way and only agrees to the doctor’s request when she realizes she really has no other choice. Arriving at Lu Kun’s home as “Friday”, Shan Shan does her best to emulate the robot’s behavior and quickly wins Lu Kun’s approval. Unaware that his new robot friend is actually a human, none of Lu Kun’s allergies are triggered by her touch but when Shan Shan discovers the truth about his condition, her heart breaks. Desperate to keep her identity a secret, Shan Shan does her best but the more time she spends with him, the more she realizes she has to tell him the truth. Will he be able to accept her as the human she is once her secret is revealed? A story that proves you can find love in the most unexpected places, “A Robot in the Orange Orchard” is a 2022 Chinese romantic sci-fi comedy drama directed by Xing Xiao.