BEIJING - Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming has trended on Chinese social media on Monday (Jan 17) - by posting just two emojis.

The 44-year-old has been married to Chinese actress Angelababy, 32, since 2015 and they have a son nicknamed Little Sponge, who turned five on Monday.

To mark the occasion, Huang posted a hand-with-five-fingers-splayed emoji and a cake emoji on Weibo at 12.05am on Monday.

The post has received more than 52,000 likes and more than 2,480 shares as of Tuesday afternoon.

This is not the first time Huang, who starred as a firefighter in the disaster film The Bravest (2019), has used emojis on social media to wish his son a happy birthday.

Last year, he posted a sponge emoji and a cake emoji; in 2020, he wrote: "Three years old. I am always your Ultraman" and added three heart emojis.

Many netizens also wished Little Sponge a happy birthday, with some hoping to see the family of three together.

However, Huang and Angelababy have been plagued by rumours of marital woes as they have not been seen together in public for several years.

It did not help that Angelababy, a regular cast member of variety show Keep Running (2017 to present), joined a new agency after her contract with her husband's company expired in 2020.