A girl is renting herself out to lonely strangers for simply 14 cents on China's model of Instagram to assist them 'really feel alive' — however it's not what you suppose

• A girl in China rents her outing to strangers for simply 1 Chinese language yuan, or 14 cents. 
• The lady, often called Peggy, mentioned her shoppers are shy and lonely, per SCMP. 
• Chinese language customers are divided: Whereas some discover her work inspirational, others say it is simply one other job.

A girl is renting herself out to strangers for a bit of greater than a dime — and in return, she’ll accompany them to do issues they do not need to do alone. 

The 26-year-old lady, often called Peggy, rents out her time for simply 1 Chinese language yuan, or 14 cents on Xiaohongshu, a social media platform much like Instagram, based on The South China Morning Publish. The report didn’t specify the length she hung out with these strangers in alternate for the cash.

Peggy, born in Xinjiang, a province in northwestern China, mentioned within the SCMP report that she presents her time to strangers to “really feel alive” and assist folks “do issues they dare not do alone.” She’s at present based mostly in China’s capital, Beijing, the place she meets folks on the lookout for firm.

Since Might, three folks have employed Peggy — a programmer who needs to promote balloons in a park, a mountain climbing fanatic, and a person who needs to attend a video games occasion hosted by McDonald’s, based on the SCMP. The report didn’t specify how a lot she bought paid in complete, or if she stop her day job for this gig.

Peggy described her shoppers as “shy” and “lonely,” per the SCMP, citing an interview with state-owned outlet Jiupai Information. She added that charging these folks just a few cents is solely symbolic as she needs to present herself “a way of formality” and that they each pay for the issues they do collectively.

Peggy mentioned she began renting her outing to folks on-line after she realized that she did not get pleasure from working on the common jobs she had earlier than, per the report.

Chinese language customers on Weibo have been divided on Peggy’s life-style, with some folks commending her for spending time with strangers.

“I need to lease myself out too,” one person commented. 

One other person wrote: “She could be very courageous and great.” 

However one person identified that what Peggy is doing is nothing greater than a job, albeit not a really profitable one.

“I do not perceive, what is the distinction between this and going to work? Other than the worth, what’s the distinction between getting a wage of 10,000 yuan?” the person wrote. The quantity of 10,000 yuan is equal to round $1,400, thought-about a excessive earnings in Beijing — and in contrast to Peggy, many locals are attempting to land high-paying jobs in China’s bleak job market.

It is not the primary time somebody has rented their outing to strangers. In January, a Japanese man mentioned he works as a “Do Nothing Lease-a-Man,” accompanying folks in actions like consuming and purchasing. Within the US, web sites like RentAFriend.com have gained some traction, the place folks can rent strangers dwelling within the space to hang around with them.