20 boyfriends and 20 iPhones: How one Chinese woman bought a house

The hashtag "20 mobiles for a house" has been used 13 million times on social media

A Chinese woman resorted to the most unbelievable way to pay for a house.

According to a blogger named "Proud Qiaoba", her colleague pseudonymously dubbed "Xiaoli" got each of the 20 guys she was dating to buy her an iPhone 7. She then sold those phones on a recycling site earning the equivalent of $17,000 in Chinese Yuan and used the money to buy a house.

While the BBC was unable to confirm whether this narrative was entirely true, they did, however, confirm that the resale company did, indeed, buy 20 new iPhones 7s from a woman in early October.



"Everyone in the office is talking about this now," wrote Proud Qiaoba, "Who knows what her boyfriends think now this news has become public."

The response to the story has been mixed. Some Weibo users have been complimenting Xiaoli's ingenuity, while others have condemned her for duping the guys who bought her the phones. One user even went to the extent of labeling her a "shameless person."



You've got to give her credit. Most people can barely get one boyfriend, let alone 20.

in my counrty, with selling 20 iphones, i can just purchase a usual car#20mobilesforahouse

— Iman Azad (@imanazad11) November 1, 2016

I wish I had a girlfriend who gifted me at least an Moto G4. #20mobilesforahouse

— Yash Agarwal (@_hollypopper) November 1, 2016

pic.twitter.com/MfGzjHYQuU

— Nessa (@vtwits) October 31, 2016

This article originally appeared on BBC.