A Malaysian man just broke a hundred hearts after claiming that the boyfriend rental ad he posted was nothing but a joke.
In a January 24 Facebook post, Zeann Jian endorsed himself as a boyfriend-for-rent for the Chinese New Year. His rates: RM 88 ($20)/day, RM 188 ($42)/reunion dinner and RM 888 ($200)/whole Chinese New Year.
Jian also shared a quick profile of himself, including details on his ethnicity, physique, known languages and fun facts. In addition, he came up with lists of do’s, don’ts and the following “choices of persona”:
Choices of Persona:
A. Professional
B. Fitness junkie
C. Ex-gay then you turned me straight
D. Rich ass millionaire*
E. Chinese Batman*
*Sponsored role. Combination allowed.
He also appointed his friend Ken Joe to be his “manager.”
Jian’s post was shared over 4,000 times, raking over 4,100 reactions and 800 comments. Some apparently took his ad seriously, and when offers escalated, he knew it was time to update. The 26-year-old said (via) The Star Online:
“I never expected the post to go viral. It was actually a random post, a joke, but some people took it literally and started sharing. I received over 100 messages from all races, and not just from females – there were males, too – who contacted me about my post.”
Jian addressed each offer, “I replied to all of them, declined their requests and explained that it was meant as a joke among my friends and they understood it.”
While Jian just made clear that he was never for hire, he claimed that an actual demand for it exists in Malaysia:
“People do face a lot of pressure (to get married), so maybe my friends and I can brainstorm and come up with an idea in the future. If I ever do this for real, I need to make sure it is done the proper way without breaking any laws or hurting anyone in the process.”
“But for the time being, I am definitely not going to be a rental boyfriend for anyone,” he added.
In China, renting boyfriends and girlfriends is a profitable business on Lunar New Year holidays, when family reunions pressure single members to marry. Recently, bachelors started turning to an app to hire females willing to be their girlfriend just for the occasion.
