With Nowhere Else to Turn, I Can Only Sell My Looks

Lin Mo stood in front of his university dormitory, staring at the crumpled student loan contract in his palm. His fingertips dug into the third button of his school uniform. This country boy from a remote mountain village had, for the first time, come to think of his looks as a curse. He could still vividly recall how the women in the village had gone crazy over him in high school, and he swore he would keep a low profile at university.

After his third flyer-distribution job ended with the boss running off with the money, he stared at the single-digit balance in his bank account and, on a whim, posted an ad on a dating app: "Temporary boyfriend for hire. Professional conversation partner, date companion, and decoy. Price negotiable."