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Finding a new man to take home for the holidays proved surprisingly easy for Lily Li. He had to be reliable, taciturn – and available for a few hundred yuan.
对于李丽丽（音译）来说，找个新男友回家过年竟然是件很简单的事。他必须可靠、沉默寡言，另外价钱要在几百元左右。
"I was not looking for some perfect guy to marry. Just someone tall – my parents like tall guys a lot – honest and not too talkative, so he doesn't say something wrong," explained the 26-year-old.
“我不是想找个那种可以谈婚论嫁的完美男人。只要高一点就好了，我父母喜欢个子高的。要诚实，而且不要太健谈，不会说错话。” 26岁的她这样说道。
The coming unar new year is China's biggest festival. It can also be a major headache for those returning home without a potential spouse. Pressure on young adults to settle down goes into overdrive, as gathering family members begin the inquisition and line up possible candidates.
马上开始的农历新年是中国最大的节日。对于那些没有潜在伴侣可以带回家的人来说，这也是一个很让人头疼的节日。大家族的成员团聚在一起，亲戚朋友开始“审问”，列出一个个可能的结婚候选人，这让年轻人蒙受了过重的结婚压力。
Taking a boyfriend or girlfriend home is a fast way to curb the speculation, which is why Li, like other twentysomethings, has hired a fake partner through an online agency.
带上一个男朋友或女朋友回家过年，这能迅速扼杀亲友的猜测。因此，李丽丽和其他二十多岁的人一样，通过网上代理雇人冒充男朋友。
"My parents want me to get married by 30," the office worker explained. "Bringing a 'boyfriend' back home simply means I get less hassle from relatives and my parents will stop worrying about my romantic life."
“我父母希望我30岁之前结婚，” 这位办公室职员解释道。“带一个‘男友’回家就意味着我的亲戚不会总烦着我，父母不用担心我的感情问题。”
One man touting his services on Taobao – a popular online shopping site – said a "basic programme" of meeting parents and visiting relatives would cost 300 yuan a day.
一个在淘宝网上售卖该服务的人说，见父母走亲戚这样的“基本服务项目”每天300元。
But, perhaps half-jokingly, he offered optional extras including doing chores (for 70 yuan an hour) and drinking China's lethal baijiu spirit with relatives (at 50 yuan per 100ml). Few "couples" will have to share bedrooms – families tend to be conservative in that regard – but some advertisers spell out the non-sexual nature of the deal, to avoid misunderstanding.
不过也许是半开玩笑，他又加上了其他可选服务，包括干家务活（每小时70元）还有和亲戚喝白酒（每100毫升50元）。很少部分“情侣”需要同室而睡，一般中国家庭在这个方面比较保守。但为了避免误会，一些提供租赁服务的人明确说明生意跟性无关。
Hu Xingdou, a social commentator at the Beijing Institute of Technology, suggested that the trend for hiring fake partners had emerged from a clash between old and new ideas.
北京理工大学的社会评论员胡星斗提出，租男女朋友回家过年这个趋势是新旧思想碰撞产生的。
Increasing materialism and the pressures of Chinese life made it harder for young people to find a partner, while parents still expected their children to marry young, he said.
他说，中国人渐趋崇尚物质，生活压力增大，这让年轻人的择偶变得更加困难。而另一方面，父母却仍然希望子女能尽早结婚。
But it may also reflect another enduring Chinese belief: the importance of being filial. Many people are reluctant to upset their parents by confronting them and would rather pretend to conform.
不过这也许也反映了另一个长久以来的观念：重视孝道。很多人不愿违抗父母，让他们失望，而是宁愿假装顺从父母的意愿。
