The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

The applause in the studio subsided, and the huge screen lit up, slowly beginning to play a short documentary.

In the video, Xu Xi is sitting at her desk, holding a pen and writing something with her head down.

The table was piled high with documents, and the digital clock on the wall clearly showed that it was already midnight.

The bell rang softly once. She stopped writing, raised her hand to rub her temples, and gently pressed her fingertips against her temples. Then she stood up, walked to the window, and looked towards the distant clock tower.

Her figure was light, standing in the bright light, yet she exuded an indescribable weariness.

The camera slowly zooms out, and the office building of the Si Nian Group headquarters comes into view.

The neon lights outside the building blinked, like countless gentle eyes.

These roads leading outwards are like blood vessels connected to the heart, gradually spreading the warmth of this place to faraway places.

The camera followed the road to the majestic, deep mountains.

The camera follows a road deep into the mountains. Amidst the towering peaks, a group of workers wearing "Sinian Group" uniforms are busy at work. Behind them, a brand-new asphalt road has been paved, winding along the mountainside and connecting the mountains with the outside world.

The scene shifts to a desolate, uninhabited Gobi Desert.

The sand stretches as far as the eye can see, and the wind blows up fine dust.

Only one red flag fluttered vigorously in the wind. Under the red flag stood a brand-new Hope Primary School.

The white walls and blue roof stand out starkly against the desolate Gobi Desert.

The classroom was filled with the clear and resonant voices of children reading aloud.

"Outside the long pavilion, along the ancient road, the fragrant grass stretches to the horizon."

"The evening breeze caresses the willows, the flute's melody fades, the setting sun shines beyond the mountains."

The camera panned across the young faces, their eyes bright and focused, holding brand-new textbooks, their faces radiating a thirst for knowledge.

The camera then shifts to the rare disease research laboratory under the Sinian Group.

The room was brightly lit, and researchers in white coats were focused on their work. Some were bending over to operate microscopes, carefully observing the subtle changes in drug samples; others were sitting together, intensely discussing research and development plans.

The short film also includes real interviews with several of the people who received the help.

In front of the camera, a young woman wearing sportswear and a medal on her chest spoke sincerely, her eyes filled with tears.

"My name is Su Lei. As those who know me know, I am the Olympic women's sprint champion."

"People say that it is through my hard work and training day after day that I was able to stand on the Olympic podium, waving the national flag and winning glory for the country."

"In fact, my family was very poor when I was a child. My parents were sick, and I had a younger brother who was in elementary school."

"I was forced to drop out of school early and set up a street stall to support my family. How could I possibly train my physical fitness and compete?"

"After learning about my family situation, Boss Xu helped me raise the tuition fees and covered my parents' medical expenses. She gave me the opportunity to change my destiny, which allowed me to enter the sports school, train wholeheartedly, and realize my dream."

...

A middle-aged man with white hair held his sleeping son, his voice choked with emotion but full of gratitude.

"My son was born with a rare disease. He took imported medicine that cost 20,000 yuan a bottle for two years. We lost our house and our car. My wife and I became defaulters, but we still couldn't improve our son's condition."

"It was Ms. Xu's new drug that gave my son a new lease on life. She also helped us pay off the debts we incurred for his treatment. She is our family's savior!"

......

At the end of the short film, Xu Xi's petite figure slowly appears in the frame.

Dressed in plain clothes, without any airs of a businesswoman, she walked along muddy mountain roads to visit impoverished families in the mountains, entered low and dimly lit mud houses, and saw children huddled in corners wearing tattered clothes.

She gently knelt down, carefully took the child's small, red, chilblain-covered hands in her own, and warmed them with her own palms, her eyes filled with heartache and tenderness.

......

Give me a candle flame to warm this cold.

"Give me the courage to walk through this darkness."

"Give me the strength to get through this."

"Give me a dream to break free from this reality."

"A single fallen leaf can ruin the whole summer."

"The falling of a snowflake heralds the cold of winter."

"The sun rises in the east every day, shining infinitely on the earth with its light."

"Where there is a dream, there is hope."

The music stopped abruptly, the short film ended, the lights came on, and Xu Xi, dressed in simple and elegant clothing, slowly walked onto the stage, smiling and waving to the audience and the camera. The applause was thunderous and prolonged.

The female host stepped forward and gently shook hands with her.

"Thank you for bringing so much warmth to this world."

"What I take from the people should be used for the people. I am simply giving back to society in another way the money I have earned."

Xu Xi took the microphone and answered calmly.

The female host nodded, her eyes full of approval, and her tone was softer than before.

"Xu Xi, congratulations on receiving this year's 'Touching China' Person of the Year' award."

People may only see your glamorous life at the top, but they don't know how hard you've worked to get there.

"You started Sinian Group from scratch, building it from nothing to a multinational corporation worth trillions of dollars. You can only imagine how hard you worked."

"Even after achieving great success, you never forgot your original aspirations. You invested 80% of the company's revenue into charity, building schools in remote mountains so that children could have access to education; and you dedicated yourself to the research and development of drugs for rare diseases so that desperate families could see hope."

"You used your own strength to help countless people out of their predicament and protect the time of countless people."

"You protected the purest smiles of the children in the mountains, and you also protected the hope of those in hospital beds to live."

At this point, the female host paused slightly, raised the microphone, and her tone became more solemn.

"After repeated discussions and comprehensive evaluation by the 'Touching China' Organizing Committee, we have unanimously decided to award Xu Xi the title of 'Guardian of Time'! This is to recognize her dedication to protecting the years with kindness and warming hearts with perseverance!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the originally gentle background music instantly switched to an exciting and warm melody.

The award presenters slowly walked up; they were a group of children who still looked very young.

They are all children whom Xu Xi has been sponsoring for many years. They wear bright red scarves around their necks, small red flowers on their collars, and hold trophies and certificates in their hands. Step by step, to the rhythm of the music, they steadily walk towards Xu Xi in the center of the stage.

They solemnly handed the trophy and certificate to Xu Xi, shouting in unison, "Thank you, Sister Xiaoxi!"

After saying that, they all bowed down and gave Xu Xi a deep bow.

The applause in the studio rang out again, even more enthusiastically than before.

Time is always gentle; it seems to possess magic, healing everything.

After the children left, the female host walked up to Xu Xi and shook her hand with a smile.

"Look, Xu Xi, look at these children you have helped. It is because of you that they have protected their time and have a bright future."

"Standing on this stage, facing the tens of millions of people across the country who have been protected by your efforts, what would you like to say?"

The spotlight shone steadily on Xu Xi. She looked around at the audience, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, as if to calm her emotions.

A few seconds later, she opened her eyes, her gaze sweeping over the crowd and landing precisely on Xu Nian in the audience, and slowly began to speak.

People often say that time heals all wounds.

"But time itself has no healing power."

Time heals nothing; it only prolongs suffering and stretches pain far, making people think it's all over.

"What truly helps us get through the days is never time, but people—those who were repeatedly crushed by life in their youth, yet remained silent."

......