At first, I thought it was just a coincidence, but I couldn't resist asking my mother. She replied mysteriously over the phone, "Hehe, didn't know that, did you? Your dad is your fan."
I was even more puzzled: "My fan?"
My mother laughed: "Your dad opened a Weibo account and became your fan. So every word and action of yours is under our watch."
So that's how it was.But I have hundreds of followers on Weibo—no wonder he managed to hide it from me.
Then another question popped into my head: "We don't even have a computer at home. Dad types on his phone at a snail's pace—maybe two or three characters a minute. Why would he bother creating a Weibo account?"
"He's not posting anything," she replied. "He just wants to know what's going on with you."
I was momentarily speechless.Thinking back, I rarely call home even once a month. When I do, it's just chatting with Mom. My only real talks with Dad might be those few times we drink together during Spring Festival each year.
Hanging up, I immediately logged into Weibo and sure enough found a "fan" from my hometown. He hadn't posted a single main thread, but under almost every one of mine, he left a brief reply.
After being misunderstood by my boss, I posted:"Work is what it is—either endure it or be ruthless." The "die-hard fan" replied: "Don't give up. Persevere." After an argument with my wife, I posted: "Is love purgatory or paradise?" The "die-hard fan" responded: "Living well is what matters."
I posted photos of my new apartment. The die-hard fan replied: "Beautiful."
I caught a cold. I posted: "This damn cold—when will it ever go away?" The die-hard fan replied: "Drink plenty of water, take care."
...
Counting carefully, I'd posted a total of 56 microblogs. This "die-hard fan" had followed a full 45 of them.Though each reply was no more than ten words, affection, encouragement, and heartfelt concern overflowed from every one. That father who struggled with words—the one who’d hand the phone to my mother whenever he called—was expressing his care and love for his son in this quiet way.
I posted my 57th microblog: "I love you both, my hidden dad and mom."