I saw a TV show about "male prostitution". (I think it was on NHK on Directv)
Basically independent women go to bars and they pick out a guy they like. He's not there for sexual favors, but more for someone to talk to. The men act like "older brothers". Women also like the men to play drinking games. The woman who sponsers the man must pay for all his drinks. So, these men are drained to drink, the more they can drink, the more money they bring to the bar. I think the documentary said that one woman paid a man 32,000 US DOLLARS in one night. They also act and sing.
Sometimes the men accompany the women on little shopping trips, and he has some input on what looks good or not.
And for someone like Ayu, she can afford 10 men
. I think it's because Ayu never had an older male figure in her early life, and that's why she resorts to this.