The emotional bank account

Most customers come to the bank laden down with hurt feelings and broken hearts, and Gong conveys Patrick Morley's "Emotional Bank Account" concept to these clients. According to the theory, everyone has an emotional bank account, and every interaction with a lover is either a deposit or a withdrawal. The secret to a satisfactory relationship is to make more deposits than withdrawals.

Gong designed bank account books based on the idea, in which couples can write down their love deposits and withdrawals. "Care, praise and encouragement are deposits, whereas criticism, distrust and quarrels are withdrawals," he explains. "I made [them] remind couples that managing love is just like managing a bank account."

Love messenger

This past January, Gong founded a "lovelorn club" that invites psychologists to give lectures and host discussion groups on relationship and psychological counseling. He also established a QQ group and blog for the club. Over 80 people have joined. They often discuss emotional problems and help one another to move past heartbreak.

Most of Gong's customers have become his friends after depositing items at the bank. They've dubbed him the "love messenger." "It's not like the normal bank," comments Sun. "I feel warmth, trust, a sense of security and a relaxed atmosphere whenever I come to his studio."

Two months after a deposit expires, Gong places it online for sale and donates the proceeds to a charity of the customer's choice. He also plans to organize donation and volunteer projects to help impoverished children in rural areas attend school. Gong believes the broken-hearted can recover from failed love by helping others. "Love is not just limited to lovers," he says.