Taobao.com, China's largest online marketplace, is never short of bizarre offers.
And here is the latest one: boyfriends for rent.
A rental boyfriend can do the following: accompanying the girl to visit friends and families, go shopping, having meals and even getting a kiss out of courtesy. The charge is by the hour.
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 The headquarters of Taobao.com in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo / China Daily] |
In China, parents especially worry about unmarried daughters.
Single women will have to face the same old question at the family dinner table: Have you got a boyfriend?
And for those who haven't found their Mr Right, renting a boyfriend emerges as a solution.
So, which men are willing to offer that service?
"I offer such a service only because I'm bored and know fewer female friends at work," said Ding Hui, 27, a salesman in the plastic industry in Shanghai, with a monthly salary of more than 10,000 yuan ($1,600).
He leased himself twice last year during Spring Festival and National Day.
His customers were two 28-year-old women.
He charged 3,000 yuan each, and the customer had to cover his round-trip tickets, accommodations and bought him clothes to make him look smart.
More than 260 rent-a-boyfriend services can be found on taobao.com, with the number climbing.
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