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I'll pay you to be my valentine

By Gan Tian (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-13 07:53

Wondering what lonely hearts can do on a day of high romance such as Valentine's Day?

Chen Wei, a salesman in an American company in Beijing, seems to have found the answer. He is planning to "rent" a girlfriend for the day for 400 yuan ($58.5) and the offer of a free meal at the Pink Loft in Sanlitun.

"You should be considerate, lovely and smart, no more than 25 years old. It is best that you work in the fashion industry, public relations or advertising so that we can have an interesting conversation. I will treat you to a free meal in Pink Loft, and pay you 400 yuan if you can share with me more than five hours after work on Valentine's Day," reads Chen's note in the BBS on www.douban.com.

The 26-year-old says he broke up with his girlfriend two years ago, and since then has been too busy to make the time for dating. This, he adds, has not been a problem except for those special occasions such as the Spring Festival - and now, Valentine's Day.

Some young Chinese celebrate V-Day with a one-day admirer. [China Daily]

"It would feel so bad to spend the day alone, especially when all my friends are out with their dates.

"I saw in an online discussion that some people had successfully 'rented' a girlfriend before going home to meet their parents during the Spring Festival. That's what gave me the idea of renting a girlfriend for Valentine's Day," Chen says.

He posted his requirements on Monday and by Wednesday evening, had received more than 20 responses and eight e-mails with photographs. He plans to meet as many as possible in person to decide who is the lucky one to get the money and the meal.

"I'm tired of those singles' parties on V-Day. I think it is a good idea to rent a one-day boyfriend. At least, you don't have to put up with a bunch of stupid guys and can pick an interesting companion," says netizen Jasmine Flavor, in a response to Chen's posting.

However, not everyone is convinced. "It is such a shame. It spoils the true meaning of love," says Jessie Lu, who works for an airline company. Even though Lu has no boyfriend, she has no plans to go to any speed dating parties, or to rent a boyfriend.

Before the Spring Festival, many Chinese websites saw a lot of traffic on this topic. Most people were looking for partners to assuage parents worrying about their children's marriages.

Liu Zhi (not his real name ), 36, surfed websites furiously in the days leading up to the Spring Festival. The engineer took his girlfriend-on-rent back to his hometown Yueyang, in Hunan province, paying her 1,500 yuan ($219.5) for four days.

"I first published a notice online. More than 20 girls wrote back. Most of them just wanted to earn a little bit of cash, and enjoy a free trip. Some said they wanted to do me a favor. But I think they were actually looking for a real friend," Liu says.

The well-behaved girl won over Liu's family and friends and later he developed a genuine affection for her.

"We got to know more about each other over the four days we spent together. She was kind to my mom, and gave many hongbao (red envelopes) to my relatives' children," Liu says.

"I hoped something magical was happening between us, but she dismissed it saying it was purely business," Liu says with more than a trace of disappointment. He remains in touch with the girl.

The salesman Chen also secretly hopes his girlfriend-on-rent turns out to be his Miss Right.

Many matrimonial agencies in cities such as Xi'an and Huizhou are holding "love for rent" parties, in a trend that seems to be catching on in several smaller cities in China.

The logic is that if a man says he wants to "rent" a girlfriend, chances are he really is serious about one.