The most desperate men took out loans in order to meet her demands for money, police officials told Shanghai TV. And, unfortunately for her eighteen suitors, Ms Wu was in fact already married to a man, with whom she had a two-year-old son.
Suspicions grew when weddings did not happen
In some cases the men grew suspicious after she repeatedly put off their wedding arrangements, prompting them to ask for their funds back. When she refused, they contacted the police.
At the height of Wu's Shanghai shakedown, local media reported, she was borrowing money from newer boyfriends in order to pay back the older ones who had detected the ruse.
The alleged scam fell apart in early 2022, when one boyfriend was asked by Wu to embezzle the funds of another with a fake request for cash to cover property taxes.
She was reported to police, who found her living with her real husband in an apartment. She told police that she was single, and saw various suitors to support her family financially.
Police have released photographs of the pre-wedding photos Wu took with her partners as part of the alleged scam. In one, she can be seen posing in a wedding veil while appearing to pull the ear of one of her boyfriends.
Chinese public shocked and amused
According to the South China Morning Post, news of her arrest has both shocked and amused the Chinese public.
"I don't even have one boyfriend, but she has 18. Now I know where the world's single men are," the newspaper quoted one Chinese internet user as saying.
The struggle for young men to find a wife in China is so well-known that there is a Chinese word for those over 30 who have failed to do so: shengnan, or 'leftover men'.
A BBC investigation in 2017 said the competition was so tough in China, where the number of men outweighs women, that suitors feel pressured to spend huge sums of money when courting.
Those who are really stuck can rent out girlfriends, who are then introduced to parents to relieve their anxiety about having a hopelessly single son.