Little Pebble stands in the sunlight at his home. (Photo by Ma Xiaoma/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
"He also can't enroll in kindergarten and play with his peers for fear of infection," Chu added.
Before going online, Xiaoshitou occupied himself at home with toys and a mobile phone. "We noticed that he barely smiled and hid when strangers-showed up," Chu said.
The boy began taking videos of himself and, with his parents' help, uploading some to Kuaishou in 2017. Netizens' greetings and encouragement flowed.
Xiaoshitou, who stands only 1 meter tall, has seen his weight balloon to nearly 35 kilograms from hormone treatments. His figure and casual chitchats with netizens have become popular on the short-video app.