A 21-year-old student from central China’s Henan province has melted many hearts on Chinese social media with her inspiring smile and her hand-drawn diary filled with cartoon avatars of herself: a happy face in battle with cancer.

Sun Ying, 21, has been struggling to juggle cancer treatment and college life since 2015 when she was first diagnosed with lymph cancer. For the past few years, she has worn a wig to attend classes at Henan Normal University. It was not until last April, when her family could not support her costly treatment, that her classmates found out about her disease.

Though suffering in pain and having undergone more than a dozen chemical treatments, Sun seldom complains to her friends and family. Even in her diary, her avatar always has a smile – even when going through chemical treatments and physical training.

As an art student, Sun has tried to alleviate the financial burden on her family by working part-time as an art teacher at training centers. Her family already took a huge blow in 2014 when her father, a lung cancer patient, passed away despite rounds of costly treatments.

Sun’s story and her drawings quickly went viral. Support and donations have hence begun pouring in to the young lady, who remains as strong and optimistic as ever.

“I’ll live on and I’ll continue my drawing to encourage more people,” Sun said.