Meet millionaire porn star Sora Aoi who taught entire generation of Chinese men about sex
Sora, 24, is more popular in the Far East than Taylor Swift and David Beckham
YOU could almost hearts and laptop screens shattering after Sora Aoi posted a selfie showing off her sparkling new ring to more than 18million social media followers.
The Japanese porn star, widely credited for "educating a generation of Chinese men about sex", went viral after announcing her engagement to musician DJ Non online.
It attracted more than 170,000 replies and 830,000 "thumbs up" on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter.
And comments ranged from the objectively sweet - "You were one of my teen superheroes" - to the downright creepy: "I will imagine of you for at least seven nights to celebrate your happy moment."
To the outside world unaware of her massive influence in the Far East, one thing became very clear, very quickly: To these men, Sara is much, much more than just an adult actress.
Sora, 34, began her career in the early 2000s, during somewhat of a sexual Renaissance in China where pornography, though illegal, is seen as a key source of information about sex.
The rapid evolution of the internet, the rise of illegal streaming sites and her willingness to engage with her fans all contributed to her rapidly expanding popularity.
By 2005, she was the second most popular female celebrity in Japan in terms of internet searches.
"Sora Aoi seized the right time to rise in China," Prof Wai-Ming Ng from the Chinese University of Hong Kong told the BBC.
He added: "When she became popular in the country, China was opening up to the outside world in various ways, including in terms of sexuality."
By opening a Twitter account (which now has 787,000 followers) in 2010, she gave her fans unprecedented access to the focal point of their fantasies for the first time.
The day, April 11, is still celebrated by her fans annually as "the night of Sora Aoi" and her Weibo account has more followers than Taylor Swift or David Beckham.
Born in Tokyo, Japan, her path into the industry was as accidental as her stage name, Aoi Sora.
In an X-rated interview with J Sex Network (JSN), she explained the moniker comes from her favourite colour blue (aoi) and something she loves - the sky (sora).
She was working odd jobs in pizza parlours, pubs and sushi bars with dreams of becoming a pre-school teacher when a scout spotted her... potential.
She was signed by Kuki Inc, one of the largest producers of Japanese porn at the time, and went on to dozens of movies including "Lust of Nurse" and "Sexy Teacher".
Since retiring from porn seven years ago, she has become a mainstream entertainer, releasing songs and starring in non-pornographic movies.
Such is her popularity that Chinese writer Wenwei Huang believes she has been pivotal in deescalating tensions between China and Japan over post-WWII tension and disputed islands off their waters.
"There was once a popular saying on China's internet: 'Diaoyu Islands belong to China, and Sora Aoi belongs to the world'," he told the BBC. "This is how she relieved the political and civil tensions."
Despite getting out of the industry, Sora previously confessed she "loves" the thought of men watching her movies and luckily her husband does not mind.
"I’ve always wanted to get married. I love kids, and it’s always been my dream to start a lovely family," she told Sora News 24.
She added: "My [husband] is neither handsome nor rich, but he has removed all of my uneasiness about having been in adult films, as well as everything else."