A Chinese man who entrusted more than one million yuan (US$140,000) in savings to his girlfriend for safekeeping was shocked when she spent it all on cosmetic procedures.
The man, surnamed Jin, and his girlfriend, Min, were in a romantic relationship when the cash was handed over.
Min had relocated from southeastern Jiangxi province to Chongqing in southwestern China to live with Jin.
To give her a sense of security, Jin entrusted her with more than one million yuan in business earnings over the several years.
In 2022, Min visited a beauty clinic for a skincare treatment and met a woman called Li, who claimed to be a shareholder at the clinic and later became her closest friend in Chongqing.
“She told me she wanted to be my friend and share everything with me. She would send me photographs of luxury goods and ask me to help choose. She even asked me to pick a sperm donor when she was undergoing IVF,” Min told Chongqing Broadcasting Group.
“When my boyfriend proposed to me in Chongqing and I had no friends here, I only invited two people to witness it and she was one of them,” Min added.
Later, Li told Min that she was also a shareholder in another establishment called the Fubiweifu Medical Beauty Clinic and recommended that she undergo several expensive cosmetic procedures there.
“She told me that a woman must have plump lips to appear wealthy. Then she pointed out the lines on my neck, saying they made me look old and that men did not like that. After that, I transferred more than 70,000 yuan (US$9,800) for an arm liposuction procedure,” Min recalled.
Over a period of three years, Min spent more than two million yuan (US$281,000) on cosmetic treatments.
From April 2022 to June 2024 alone, she spent 1.3 million yuan (US$183,000) at the Fubiweifu Medical Beauty Clinic.
She also received treatments at other clinics recommended by Li.
Min said most of the money she spent came from Jin’s earnings, with a small portion charged to her credit card.
Jin discovered the truth recently when he asked Min to give him 200,000 yuan (US$28,000) to help with a cash flow problem, only to discover that she had no money left.
Jin contacted Li and obtained a cost sheet for one of Min’s procedures. He was stunned to discover that while Min had paid 750,000 yuan (US$105,000), the actual cost was only 120,000 yuan.
Of the total 1.3 million yuan that Min spent at the Fubiweifu Medical Beauty Clinic, Li profited by more than 900,000 yuan (US$127,000).
Jin said: “To be honest, I was in shock. How could I find someone this naive? She even told me that Li was her only friend here and asked me not to offend her.”
Min said: “She told me the prices, but I trusted her so much that I never thought to query them. Now I realise all the handbags, the house, the holidays, they were probably all paid for with my money. It completely shattered my world view.”
Min later offered to sell her Porsche 911 to help Jin through his financial crisis.
She also said that Jin had contributed to her appearance-related anxiety.
“He was always talking about how pretty other women were, which made me feel very insecure about my looks. That is what gave Li the opportunity,” said Min.
Jin agreed with this assessment: “Sometimes I had to attend too many business dinners and did not spend enough time with her.”
Li has agreed to return 560,000 yuan (US$79,000) and the couple has decided to continue their relationship.
One Chinese netizen said: “This is the true cost of love.”
While another added: “She is quite beautiful. If you think about it positively, at least the money was not completely wasted.”
