You remember Gavin, right?
Since 2016, the 7-year-old "simpering boy" from the US has been winning fans across the globe with his hilariously awkward facial expressions.
He quickly rose to fame and attained meme status as more and more netizens shared pictures of him flashing his fake smile far and wide. (Including you, I suppose? )
Already a social media star, Gavin registered an account on China's Sina Weibo at noon on Thursday.
Within a day, the account had attracted more than a million followers. That's a pace that most grown-up celebrities would struggle to keep up with!
Registered on the site under his real name "Gavin Thomas", he has also verified himself as "网络红人假笑男孩", which roughly translates as "online celebrity — simpering boy".
He was given the name "simpering boy" by his Chinese fans, who felt an instant connection to Gavin's smiles, which somehow manage to perfectly convey a combination of awkwardness, politeness, fear, and grace, all at the same time.
"Hey guys! It's Gavin here! Welcome to my page."
大家好！我是Gavin！欢迎来到我的主页。
His first bilingual post on his micro blog account came with a video attached, in which he said he hoped to one day visit China, meet his fans and take pictures with them.
Within 24 hours, the post had been shared, commented on or liked by more than 600,000 weibo users, while the video had been watched nearly 30 million times.
Most comments welcomed Gavin to the social network, with many featuring a picture of him pulling one of his famous faces.
Lin Gengxin, a well-known Chinese actor, also said hi, attracting even more attention.
Gavin first went viral in 2014 after his uncle, Nick Mastodon, posted a video of him online with a crested gecko on his forehead.
"People started to comment about his reaction and how great it was," Mastodon said in an earlier interview with New York Magazine. "And I was like, 'let's find other ways to capture him in funny situations and see if he can make that face some more.' "
Of course, Gavin could. And now he might be coming to China to share it with all his fans!
Are you looking forward to a future visit from the "simpering boy"? Do you want to take a picture with him?
Here are some of the top comments on Gavin's first weibo post:
@祁驴: Gavin, this is your biggest competitor!
@Totojj: Competitor No 2.
@樱井翔的双肩包: All your competitors.
@小敬酱: How could there not be Xiefeiji in the comments for Gavin? That's what brought me here. I wanna be a part of this!
Perhaps one of the best comments, however, came from another weibo user who said with more than a hint of irony: "His fake smile suggests he doesn't really want to come to China and take pictures with us."
网友评论