The bright side
The normally funny man conveyed that though he had a hard time when he came to Beijing as a drifter at 18, he has remained optimistic about life since then. This has helped him accept the tragedy of his little boy.
The man recalled that he came to the capital city without a college degree and could hardly find a job. Despite the tough life in which he had to borrow money for lunch, he managed to attend classes at Tsinghua and Peking universities. The experience helped to build his strong personality.
As he turns almost 40, he has a personal belief that there is a balance between Yin and Yang. "Whenever bad things happen, I wait for the bright side of them to appear," said the popular online blogger.
"Sadness is just a temporary reaction. Generally, I feel OK towards the disease haunting Chaihe," added Cai.
Fans and pressure
Many of his online fans, among whom there are several celebrities, are simply attracted to his plain words expressing his parental love for his sick son.
Yao Chen, the most popular actress on Weibo posted online that Cai's articles, despite the tragic disease, Cai never complains and his words have given us the strength to face the challenges of daily life, said the China News Weekly.
He Jie, a pop singer, said on her Weibo: "Cai, in telling stories of his family and his son, has made me laugh, and sometimes cry."
Many even feel sympathy for the optimistic father. However, for the man who used to be a talk show host, such sympathy makes him feel uncomfortable. He says, "It's good to have readers who enjoy my articles, but I don't need pity."
Without a doubt, Cai, with his funny style of telling sad stories, has become quite popular now. Fans on Weibo are obsessed with the emotions hidden in his joking words. This has also given tremendous pressure to the blogger, who claimed it is less fun "when you get so many who are closely watching your words" and complained that he couldn't make any more casual jokes. The fans expect him to be a serious parent.
Moreover, Cai has been challenged by parents whose children also suffer from autism. Some criticized his jokes about autism, some complained he was not being serious, and some suggested he "make use of the time surfing online to accompany his son." Cai claims he wasn't irritated by these responses, responding that people are entitled to their own opinions.
However, he "intended to talk less about his son in the future," said the magazine. He hoped one day his son will recover, and by then the boy will ask: "Dad, how could you make so many jokes about me?"
