At 62 years old, without formal education or knowledge of English, an ordinary auntie from the Chaoshan region has become an online sensation by singing English songs, even earning a like from original artist Rosé. Her name is Li Deru, and for the first six decades of her life, she lived primarily for others — forced to leave school at a young age because of a mere eight-cent tuition fee, she spent her days around the stove, tending to family, and working in factories.

At an age when many of her peers accepted that "old age means settling down," she broke through that prejudice and courageously picked up the passion she had long buried inside: singing in English. Despite not knowing the 26 letters of the alphabet, she created her own "Chaoshan phonetic notation method," using dialect homophones to match each word and memorizing through sheer repetition. In this way, she managed to learn more than 100 English songs.

Initially, her family didn't understand her. During those days with no one to appreciate her efforts, a friend's suggestion woke her up: "You can post your videos on short-video platforms and let the big stage help you get noticed." In 2024, she tried uploading videos of herself singing English songs to a short-video platform, and this public stage completely rewrote the course of her life. She was seen, embraced, and encouraged there. Her performance of an English song at a local village gala went viral, and her cover of "APT" was even liked by Rosé herself.

After her rise to fame online, Auntie Ru was spotted by director Lan Hongchun and cast in "Love Letters to Grandma," playing a warm-hearted auntie at a guesthouse who loves speaking English. Lines like "dangerous" and "Just do it" became comedic highlights, and she also took on the challenge of singing the Chaoshan-language theme song "Brewing Tea Under the Moon" for the first time. In the documentary "When Life Shines," Auntie Ru wrote a letter to her younger self: "You were always busy, and your own dreams had to be buried deep in your heart. Now your dreams have exceeded what you ever imagined. You must keep working hard and hold on to your passion."

The 62-year-old Auntie Ru has proven through her own experience: when it comes to chasing dreams, it's never too late to start.