If you
thought the premise of Kanojo, Okarishimasu (Rent-a-Girlfriend)
was exaggerated, get ready to see how reality surpasses fiction. In China, a
trend has been unleashed that has the internet debating whether it is cool or
dystopian: young women are dropping the "ticket" to participate in
boyfriend games for hire in role-playing games. Basically, they pay for a
handsome guy to not only lead the game, but to act as his devoted husband for
hours.
This
phenomenon is an evolution of the famous "Jubensha" (scripted
assassinations), which are immersive role-playing games. But here things
change: in the emotional variant called "liàn pèi běn" (God
knows how to pronounce it), the objective is not only to discover the murderer,
but to live a soap opera romance. The game guide becomes your "destined
partner", reciting lines of eternal love, protecting you from ghosts and
even charging you princess style if the script calls for it. It is, literally,
paying for an Otome Game in the flesh.
Details
of the business of boyfriends for rent in role-playing games
We are not
talking about charity. This is a well-rounded business where emotional
validation has a price tag. Standard sessions range from $42 to $98, but if you
want the hottest guy in the venue to serve you or a private VIP room, the bill
can skyrocket to $3,500. The demand is so brutal that the best
"actor boyfriends" are billing between $1,400 and $5,600 a month just
for being charming.
Here are
the facts that make your head fly:
- The Service: 8-10 hour sessions where
the DM acts as your ideal partner (protective ghosts, childhood friends,
etc.).
- The "Fanservice": It includes consensual
light physical contact: holding hands, hugs and even kisses on the cheek.
- The Clientele: Mainly urban women in
their 20s and 30s tired of modern dating.
- The Risk: There are already reports of gamers becoming obsessed, harassing DMs on WeChat, or spending their life savings repeating the same script to feel like someone loves them.
On the
controversy: Love or Merchandise?
Sociologists
say this is a "sure rehearsal of romance" in a Chinese society where
real relationships are a minefield of social pressure. One veteran gamer
confessed that hearing her DM tell her "luckily, I protected you"
filled a void that her real life couldn't. Yet critics are already pulling out
the torches, accusing the industry of preying on loneliness and creating an
"economy of masculine charm" that dangerously blurs the line between
fantasy and reality.
It is a
thorny issue. On the one hand, it is consensual entertainment (such as Host
Club or Maid Café); on the other, you are paying for an
illusion of affection that disappears as soon as the clock runs out.
