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Confucius said, food and sex are basic human desires. Chinese showbiz celebrities seem to have taken this to heart.
Mainland actress Jin Qiaoqiao lost her cellphone recently and a text message reportedly found on it said: Our boss likes Miss Jin very much. Could Miss Jin please accompany him? Just for one day. It will be kept absolutely confidential. If this makes you uncomfortable, please forgive us, but we are very sincere.
There was no reply found on the cellphone.
Soon after, director Zhang Jiarui told media the "dinner matter" is common in the entertainment industry. That's how female stars meet up with rich men, he explained, revealing his long-time star associate Zhang Jingchu had received a similar invitation. The payoff? A 30 million yuan investment proposal.
But it was turned down, Zhang is quick to add.
The list of female stars' "dinner price" is nothing new, going by the tabloids. The latest is that Taiwan singer Annie Yi ranks 10th among Taiwan stars. "Dining" with her, they claim, costs about 200,000 yuan.
Yi ended a nine-year marriage with singer Harlem Yu in 2009 after paparazzi discovered her affair with actor Victor Huang.
Releasing her latest album this week, Yi said emphatically: "I did not send any text message to Yu to woo him back."
She was reacting to rumors that she had sent text messages saying she was wrong and asking for Yu's forgiveness.
Yu, too, has denied the rumors.
Mainland actress Gao Yuanyuan is the heartthrob of many men, thanks to her innocent looks. If there is, indeed, a price list for dining with mainland actresses, she must be high on it.
But she is more in the limelight nowadays for her cooking skills. "I am not really good at cooking. I can make some simple dishes," she said recently while promoting a snack. Does her boyfriend like her homemade dishes? Guess not, as she replied hotly, "I do not want to answer this question."
Gao's boyfriend is actor Yu Xiaowei. Did you say, Yu who? Hardly surprising. His sole claim to fame is Gao. But after failed relations with top music producer Zhang Yadong and the rumored affair with A-lister Xia Yu, Gao seems to have finally found the right person.
If Gao's case is any indication it looks like it's far more difficult for stars to cook up a meal at home than to cozy up to magnates over "dinner" dates.