Lin Ji's cartoon creation. Photo provided to China Daily

One day she saw a post online: "Every man has a particular time he wants to return to". For Lin, that moment is 1999, when her father was still alive, so she could cherish the moments with him. That feeling was the genesis of her first comic series Back to 1999.

"I see purple in it - it's a color that represents growth. Everyone wants to return to a particular time in their life because there's something there you can never put aside," she said.

"I have always felt that the essence of life lies in hustle and bustle - the need to continue to do something - to energize a dull day, to enjoy the feeling of really living. For example, traveling to places far and wide, but also mundane things such as slavishly looking after my beloved cat."

In 2010, Lin and several colleagues opened the MIUCafe, a cat-themed cafe in Fuzhou, Fujian province, and earlier this year, she opened a Ghost- themed cafe there. Her aim now is to establish a chain of cafes nationwide.

Lin's account on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter, has nearly 3.9 million followers, and each of the comic strips she has posted online has been forwarded 100,000 times on average. "Drawing comic strips is really nerve-racking most of the time, but inspiration often comes unexpectedly after a period of writer's block, and it's incredibly cathartic - that's why I call my cartoon career a 'sweet torture'. No matter, I'm addicted and will never grow tired of it."