A peaceful heart

The third person to step forward was Chen Yan.

He stood up with a smile, put his hand into the lottery bag, fumbled for a few seconds, pulled out a slip of paper and read: "Leo".

Leo exclaimed "Oh—!" like a child who had just won the lottery, and immediately jumped up: "Me? Me? Wow, what will Uncle give me?"

Chen Yan picked up a small, neatly packaged box from beside him, walked over and handed it to Leo: "Open it and take a look."

Leo tore open the outer packaging, revealing a warm, wooden hourglass. Fine yellow and white sand lay quietly in the glass, not yet flowing.

He lifted it up and shook it with a slightly theatrical air: "Oh my, what kind of artsy youth style is this?"

Everyone burst out laughing.

Chen Yan coughed and cleared his throat: "The message is written below."

Leo flipped the hourglass base over and read the words: "Time is money."

He paused for a moment, then nodded in a serious tone: "Okay, this serves as a warning that I should play in moderation, restrain myself from binge-watching TV shows, and strive for academic excellence."

Zhi smiled and said, "Why don't you use it as an alarm clock for your 8 AM class next semester?"

Leo waved his hand, "Then I'm afraid I'll miss the class if I just stare at the hourglass in a daze."

Everyone burst into laughter.

“It’s my turn.” Xu Qian straightened her Santa hat, stood up, and pulled a slip of paper from the bowl.

“Sister Liu Dan—” she smiled and looked up at the other side of the sofa, “The gift is a bit impractical, but I think you can handle it.”

Sister Dan walked over, took the rather artistic gift bag, and laughed as she unwrapped it: "It sounds like a philosophical problem."

Upon opening it, I found a card box about the size of a deck of cards. Printed on the box was a line of text: "If you absolutely had to tell the truth tonight, what would it be?"

"Soul Questioning Playing Cards?" June leaned over to take a look. "That name is terrifying."

"One dish, one dish!" Leo started chanting.

Dan pulled out the top card and read aloud, "'What do you most want to apologize to your 20-year-old self? Why?'"

"Oh my god." Lin Yue laughed and buried his face in his palms. "This won't do, it's too lethal."

“There are others like this,” Dan said, pulling out another one, “'When was the last time you felt lonely?'”

"This can be used to break the ice during team building activities," Zhiwei teased.

She pulled a sample sheet from the box: "Like this one—'When was the first truly significant breakdown in your life?'"

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

Leo laughed so hard he lay on the table: "This isn't breaking the ice, it's breaking down defenses. It's perfect for making everyone never speak to each other again."

“Words of advice, words of advice—” Panqiu reminded.

Sister Dan pulled out a card and read it aloud: "May we always have the courage to face those unavoidable problems."

She paused, then nodded gently. "I accept your words."

Everyone quieted down a bit, and there was a hint of agreement in their eyes.

Leo couldn't help but add, "But right now I just want to get around my doctoral thesis."

This caused the whole audience to burst into laughter again.

Zhiwei stood up, pulled a slip of paper from the bag, glanced at it, and waved to the person opposite her: "June, it's you."

June walked over with a smile and took the box from Zhiwei. The box wasn't big, and the packaging was clean and soft. When she opened it, there was a pot of plump little succulents with fresh and lovely colors.

"Wow, so cute!" she exclaimed, gently parting the edge of the basin to find a small label—a thin white plastic sheet with the words "Please don't die" written on it in black pen.

"What's the deeper meaning behind this?" Leo couldn't help but ask, "Giving someone a plant and then attaching a life-or-death warning."

Pan Qiu was sipping her tea when she heard this. Her vision blurred, and the image of Ethan's office on the first day of school flashed through her mind.

The succulent plant that sat quietly by the window also had a similar label attached to it.

Pan Qiu remembers that the sunlight slanted between the plants and the bookshelves, and the light and shadow seemed to be the quietly flowing time.

A smile crept across her lips as she thought of this, like a gentle breeze across a lake, fleeting and fleeting.

That smile did not escape Lin Yue's eyes.

He happened to look up and glance at her, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment before casually looking away.

You stand on the bridge admiring the scenery.

The people admiring the scenery are watching you from the building.

But the people on the bridge never realize that they themselves have become part of someone else's scenery.

"Hey, the message hasn't been read yet." Zhiwei's voice brought her back to reality.

“Oh, right.” June took a small card from the bottom of the packaging and read it softly:

"Take good care of this little one, and take good care of yourself too."

"Ah, so gentle," Senior Sister Xu Qian said with a smile.

Leo sipped his tea and joked, "Aren't you a computer scientist? You seem so natural when you're being artistic."

Zhiwei snorted: "Literature and art are a side job; my main job is debugging."

Everyone laughed.

“Next,” Zhiwei looked around, “there’s only Panqiu left. Now it’s time to draw the name of the person you want to give a gift to.”

Panqiu was about to get up when she suddenly paused—she looked around and realized that only she and Zhiwei had not yet received their gifts.

Zhi smiled and spread her hands: "Look, now it's just the two of us, so there's no need to draw lots for the gift. It can only be given to me."

“Then Lin Yue’s gift is Pan Qiu’s.” Leo realized immediately and added with a smile, “It saves us the trouble of drawing lots.”

Everyone burst into laughter.

Panqiu walked over, intending to hand the wrapped little gift to Zhiwei, but was stopped by her.

Zhiwei held onto the box tightly, smiling slyly: "But... I actually... want the chocolate more."

"Ouch—" June cried out, immediately joining in the teasing, "Are you switching the baby?"

"Then what should we do?" Zhiwei feigned innocence. "Or... should I switch with Lin Yue?"

Lin Yue raised the corner of his mouth, a fleeting smile in his eyes, but did not respond. He simply handed the chocolate to Zhiwei from the side.

"You owe me two favors now," Zhiwei said softly as she took the chocolate.

"I remember," Lin Yue said softly, his tone calm with a slight smile, like a pebble gently dropped into water.

The atmosphere at the scene instantly became lively after Zhiwei stirred things up.

"Why don't Lin Yue and Pan Qiu just exchange gifts directly!" Leo egged them on. "Let's give them over there and put on a show for us!"

"Yes, yes, come to the middle of the living room for a moment," the senior sister chimed in with a smile.

Amidst the cheers of the crowd, Lin Yue walked towards Pan Qiu, and the two stood in the center of the living room in perfect unison.

He first handed over the gift box, his gestures steady and neither frivolous nor timid.

It was a pure white cup box; once opened, it contained a seemingly ordinary mug.

Pan Qiu took it and looked down to examine it closely—the cup only had a very light gray heart on its body, almost blending into the color of the ceramic.

She looked up at him; his expression was calm, his eyes serene and composed.

"Add some hot water," he said softly, his tone more like an invitation than a command.

Zhiwei had already brought the kettle, and Leo stepped forward, saying, "Let me do it!"

Hot water is poured into the cup, and gradually, a line of words emerges as the temperature rises:

Quiet hearts hear more.

The love remains, unmoved, only now turned red. At this moment, it shines quietly like a soft node embedded in the center of a sentence.

"There's also a message." Leo handed over a small card with a note on it.

Pan Qiu lowered her head and read aloud softly:

"To those who always listen attentively. May you also be heard gently."

She read at a moderate pace, her voice clear. When she finished, no one spoke. Only the steam rising slowly from the cup, like mist enveloping a moment of silence.

Lin Yue looked at her intently, his gaze fixed there, as if he were listening attentively to her reading a letter written to him.

"It's my turn." Pan Qiu looked up and smiled, breaking the silence.

She handed over her gift.

It's a soft, fluffy silicone cloud-shaped nightlight that sinks slightly in your hand and lights up when touched, like a little contraption from a dream.

"I guess it's the romantic and practical type," Zhi commented with a smile.

Lin Yue picked up the card and read the message aloud:

May you sleep soundly every night, and may there always be a light in your heart.

He gave a soft "hmm," as if responding, or perhaps accepting it.

Then he put the nightlight back in the box, without saying anything more, but held it with extra care.

Despite the lively atmosphere, the atmosphere quickly returned to the normal rhythm of a gathering.

But the two people standing in the center of the living room seemed to have just finished a dance that no one else could see.

The lights didn't dim, and the background music didn't stop; only the rhythm in each other's hearts was momentarily disrupted.