In a video she is seen holding a piece of paper with her personal information written on it – “32 years old, single, no property or car, five months pregnant”.
It also lists details about the husband she is looking for.
“He should have a flat and car, more than 20,000 yuan (US$2,800) monthly salary, and must treat me and my child well.”
She can be seen talking to a man who is showing an interest in her.
“Although the child is not yours, I’m yours, ” she says to him. “If you love me, you won’t care about whether the child is yours.” She goes on to say that her child would take his surname.
Without hesitating, the man says that he has a 40-year-old son who might fit the bill. But when the man tells her his son’s monthly salary is between 7,000 and 8,000 yuan, she looks appalled and dismisses him with a wave of her hand.
“No way can I accept that. I won’t consider a man who earns less than 20,000 yuan, because that won’t support my child adequately,” she tells him.
The man walks away and another one approaches the woman.
“Are you willing to be the father of my child?” She asks him.
“I’m not ready yet, but we can get to know each other,” he replies.
She asks the man to touch her belly, which he does. Then he ends the conversation and leaves abruptly.
As soon as the video clip circulated online on the mainland it went viral, but people were suspicious and questioned its authenticity.
The authorities later announced on Weibo that Chenxiaosi had admitted she invented the story to attract more social media traffic, adding that she was now the subject of a formal investigation.
Her social media account appears to have closed.
The influencer’s stunt sparked widespread criticism on mainland social media.
“Oh my god, how can she cook up such a shameless lie?” One person said.
Another added: “Some people will do anything to attract internet attention.”
Stories about people being controversial in a bid to boost their online profiles often shock the mainland public.
In August last year, a 24-year-old influencer in southern China was detained for staging a “sexual harassment” incident in a restaurant, and her social media account was subsequently banned.
In another case, in May last year, a 34-year-old online influencer in eastern China died after consuming more than four bottles of baijiu, sometimes known as “Chinese vodka”, while live-streaming.