Romance and now riches for `spring-autumn' couple

The so-called "spring-autumn romance" (老少配) between a man and a woman more than twice his age is now turning out to be a lucrative venture for at least one of the high-profile pair, local media reported yesterday.

Chao Hsiu-hua (趙繡花), 51 -- who is engaged to 18-year-old Cheng Yu-hui (鄭玉輝) -- is scheduled to hold a press conference and sign a contract with an agent today, Mother's Day.

According to Chao, she is currently shooting a commercial for a wedding company in Taipei and several weight-loss centers and cosmetic companies have also approached her to appear in their commercials.

A publisher is also planning to publish a book, entitled Lily's Life (莉莉的一生), regarding her controversial romance with the young man. "Lily" is Chao's nickname.

Chao also revealed yesterday that her new agent is planning to take the romance to the stage, and that she may play the role of "Lily" herself.

"I might accept these suggestions, since I have so little money at the moment," Chao said yesterday.

The money may be arriving just in time.

On May 8, Chao was forced to shut down her karaoke club in Hsintien, Taipei County, after county officials found the club was unregistered and could not be licensed because it was located in a residential area.

However, Chao's fiance, a young student who used to work part time at the club, believes that it was his mother who reported the club to the county government. As a result, he has cut off relations with his mother, who is strongly opposed to the relationship.

The boy's family members and neighbors also vandalized the club at least three times last week.

After their romance was made public in early April, Chao and Cheng have made headlines nationwide.

Surprisingly, Chao also complained to the local media yesterday that Cheng sometimes does not come home the whole night, and she warned him that such behavior was not acceptable and should never happen again.