In China’s booming otome romance market, with more than 80 million users, a 21-year-old female cosplayer performs as the “perfect boyfriend” for young women.
In China, tens of millions of women immerse themselves in the romantic fantasies of otome games. At the same time, a new form of emotional companionship known as “commissioned dating” is emerging. Female cosplayers study the language, looks, and emotional expressions of virtual boyfriends, temporarily becoming their clients’ ideal partners. Zhaosheng is one of them.
Yet the emotional demands of this work are beginning to take their toll. As Zhaosheng considers leaving the industry, she realizes she has formed complex emotional connections with both the characters she portrays and the clients she serves. Meanwhile, two fellow cosplayers at different stages of their careers reflect possible versions of her future.
As she constantly shifts between her real identity and fictional roles, Zhaosheng is forced to confront a difficult question: when people fall in love with the character she performs rather than the person she is, who is she really?
