Vincent's parents 'never say he's good enough' - so he turned to a middle-aged couple online

The exasperation runs so deep that it has inspired viral memes called "gourd soup literature". The name comes from a one-minute skit in which a son politely refuses a bowl of gourd soup from his mother but eventually he gets blamed for being ill-tempered.For many young people, the skit captures a familiar dynamic: their wishes are ignored by parents who claim to be doing things for their own good.Zhao Xuan, 28, who tells the BBC that her parents dispensed so much "gourd soup literature" that she has muted her family group chat.In the past, she would lament to her friends while trying to understand her parents' behaviour. Now she turns to memes because the humour helps her."I did go to a therapist, but I gradually realised that crying wouldn't solve the problem," Zhao says. "My mom wouldn't change, so I could only change my own mindset, which is to treat them with the same attitude, as if it was a joke."For Vincent, his "virtual parents" remind him of a more uncomplicated time. Recalling a recent video by Pan and Zhang about a supermarket visit, he says, "I really miss the days when I was little and would go grocery shopping with my parents ahead of the Spring Festival. We have not had this kind of conversation, which comes with no social pressure, for a long, long time."Vincent realises that because the content has become so popular, it is also commercially successful.