有剩女就有压力,有压力就有动力,有动力就有产业——啥产业?男友出租啊!这年头租个男友回家已经不是啥新鲜事了,但是租了个太帅的回家被嫌弃还是头一回听说!
27岁西莉亚有一份自己的事业,至今未婚,这似乎听起来很正常,但许多中国人并不这么看,在他们眼里,女人必须在三十岁之前结婚,像西莉亚这样27岁以后还没嫁出去的就叫“剩女”。已经步入27岁的李小姐,已经被贴上了“剩女”的标签(Xi Liya has reached the age at which unmarried women in China are labelled "sheng nv" or "leftover women")。
It's a stigma that carries deep ramifications within her social life, workplace and especially among her family. But with a blossoming career in Beijing, she has no desire to get married.
在她的社交生活,工作场所,特别是在家庭中,这都不是一件好事且会带来很大影响。但是她在北京的事业正蓬勃发展,本人并没有特想结婚。
There's a new and booming business in China - Boyfriend Rentals. Many women in China are pressured to get married whenever they go home and visit their parents. That is why you can now rent boyfriends online to bring home during the holidays to keep the relatives quiet.
在中国有一个新兴的并且蓬勃发展的业务——男朋友出租。在中国,许多女性在回家看望他们的父母时被逼婚。这便是为什么你现在可以在放假的时候从网上租男友回家并能让亲戚没话说。
In search of a solution that staves off the marital pressures, she decides to commit the ultimate deception: She hires a handsome boyfriend in Beijing to take home to meet her family and friends.
为了寻找一个避免婚姻压力的解决办法,西莉亚决定隐瞒父母:在北京租一个英俊的男朋友带回家去见家人和朋友。
但是当她把“男友”带回家见父母后,父母却说:
"He is too tall and too handsome for you," her mother said. "You need a shorter and more plain man". It seemed a bit harsh.
“他对你来说太高而且也太帅了,你应该找一个更矮一点、看起来可靠一点的。”
这年头男友出租这个行业也不好做……表示长的太帅带回家会被爹妈嫌弃……
“假男友”Sean Lee Baker是如此澄清的:
Well, let me start by explaining that being a fake boyfriend isn't my day job. I'm actually an events producer. I knew Celia through a mutual friend. It was the two of them who came up with the idea of her renting a boyfriend in order to alleviate some of the pressure her parents were placing on her to marry.
首先,我要声明是做假男友并不是我的日间工作。事实上我是一名会议策划。我是通过彼此的朋友认识的。是他们俩个想出的这个方法,她租男友是为了减轻她父母施加在她身上的婚姻压力。
I had been starting to regret coming to the city of Harbin, in northeastern China. Fooling Celia's parents into thinking I was her boyfriend suddenly didn't seem like such a good idea.
我早已经开始后悔来到这个在中国东北部的城市哈尔滨。当隐瞒西莉亚的父母,欺骗他们说我是她的男朋友的时候,瞬间就发现这并不是个好主意。
I think, perhaps, deep down, Celia wanted her parents to find out. And even though our plan failed, nobody seemed very bothered by it.
我认为,也许,在内心深处,西莉亚想要她的父母能够识破。并且尽管我们的计划失败了,似乎没人会受到这件事的困扰。
(来源:沪江英语)