What is the most meaningful gift someone ever gave you? “The most meaningful gift I’ve ever received was a sum of money that covered my entire tuition for my senior year of college. It was given to me by one of my mother’s close friends. Until that moment, I had never realized how tight our family’s finances actually were. When she handed me the money, my mother didn’t say a word, but the look on her face told me everything — my parents were getting older, and supporting my education had already become a real strain for them.I really appreciate her generosity. Now that I have a stable job, I genuinely hope I can do the same for someone else someday.”

1. Did you ever write a letter to Santa when you were young? No, I didn’t. When I was a kid, I already knew that nothing in life came for free — if I wanted something, I had to work for it. At that time, I shared a bedroom with my sister, who often played games late into the night, so it was impossible for me to fall asleep early. I remember dreaming of having my own room one day, and even of getting a job, even if it only paid a few hundred yuan a month. So I pushed myself to study hard and work hard, and eventually I got a job with a decent salary that allows me to live independently. I never wrote a letter to Santa, but if I have my own kids in the future, I’d love to play Santa for them.

Is there a childhood wish you never got but still remember? Yes, I’d say it was actually a whole stack of gold bars. When I was a kid, I used to dream about someone giving me piles of gold so I could get rich overnight. In my little fantasy, I’d buy a big house and finally have my own cozy bedroom. Of course, that wish never came true — I didn’t even win the lottery. And now that I’ve grown up and can afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment for myself, I still catch myself daydreaming that heaven might rain a little gold on me. Some childhood dreams just stay with you.

Do you enjoy giving gifts more, or getting gifts more? Why? “Well, I’d say it really depends on the stage of my life. When I was a kid, I didn’t have an allowance to buy things I wanted, so I absolutely loved receiving gifts from my friends — even something small like a sandwich or an old umbrella could make my whole day. But now that I’ve grown up and have a stable job with a decent salary, I actually enjoy giving gifts much more. On payday, I love buying things like durian or cherries for my best friends. It makes me really happy because I can share yummy food with my close friends.

If you wrote a letter to Santa today, what would you ask for as an adult? To be honest, the older I get, the more I realize how important money is. So if I were to write a letter to Santa today, I’d probably ask for a stack of gold bars—let’s say a thousand of them, just to make life easier. There’s something strangely satisfying about holding real gold, and if I ever needed to buy something big, like a Musang King durian or join Coach Shane’s classes, I could simply sell a few bars to cover the cost. For me, having enough money just means peace of mind. With financial freedom, almost all the problems in my life would become much easier to manage.