Happy Birthday to our dearest Xiao Zhan!
As you step into 35, it brings me so much happiness to see how at ease and self-assured you have become.
Thirty-five feels like such an interesting milestone. You are still young and full of possibilities, yet there is now a deeper sense of self that comes from everything you have experienced along the way. It feels almost like the beginning of a second chapter — one in which you know yourself a little better, trust yourself a little more and move through the world with greater confidence and ease.
And perhaps the best thing about turning 35 is that while the number somehow sounds very grown-up, 35 itself is still wonderfully young. There is still so much road ahead of you.
Life can be beautifully serendipitous.
Back in 2016, you stayed true to your original intentions while allowing life to lead you somewhere you may never have fully planned to go. At 24 going on 25, you chose to keep walking deeper into the world of entertainment and the performing arts, guided by curiosity about the unknown and an endless desire to learn, explore and discover what else you might be capable of.
When I look back at your story, I realize that this spirit of exploration has always been part of you.
You were once a little boy fascinated by outer space. Later, as a university student, you immersed yourself in different clubs and activities, exploring music and performance alongside your studies. Then, in your mid-twenties, life took another unexpected turn and you found yourself debuting as a member of a boy group.
Your story has always reminded me that there is no single timetable for life. We spend so much time looking sideways, measuring ourselves against where other people are and wondering whether we are moving too slowly or arriving too late. But perhaps we are neither early nor late. We are simply living according to our own time zone.
Perhaps that is what I think of as “Xiao Zhan Time” — not racing against someone else’s clock, but trusting the rhythm of your own life. You did not need to begin where everyone else began or arrive when everyone else arrived. The experiences that came before were not detours or wasted time; they were part of what shaped the person who eventually stepped onto that stage. You arrived in your own time, and you have continued moving forward at a pace that belongs entirely to you.
There has always been something wonderfully open-hearted about the way you approach life. You are willing to try, to learn, to step beyond what is familiar and to see where the road might take you. Beneath that calm exterior has always been an adventurous spirit — energetic, inquisitive and full of life.
And now, as you begin this 35th chapter, I have a feeling that same spirit will continue to lead you toward new places, new experiences and new versions of yourself. I hope the years ahead unfold into an even richer story, full of colour, texture and unexpected discoveries.
Thank you for letting us, your Xiao Fei Xia, come along for the ride.
Serendipity is also how I found you.
One morning in October 2020, my television simply happened to be tuned to the right channel at the right moment. You were singing “The Brightest Star in the Night Sky.”
Sometimes the smallest coincidences quietly change the direction of our lives.
I heard your voice, watched you perform and felt something inside me respond before I could even explain why. I only knew that I wanted to know more about the person singing that song. I wanted to hear more of your music, discover more of your work and see where following you might lead.
I could never have known then just how much that chance encounter would eventually bring into my life.
Thank you for your music. Thank you for sharing your voice and your talents with the world. And thank you for that unexpected moment that somehow allowed our paths to cross from opposite sides of the world.
Since that day in October 2020, you have influenced my life in ways I never could have anticipated.
Although I am Chinese by heritage, I was born and raised in Canada, and for much of my life I knew surprisingly little about China, its language or its culture. I could not read or write Chinese, and it was not until my second year of university that I finally began learning the language.
Even then, progress was slow. There was very little opportunity to practise because English was simply the language we used every day.
Then I became your Xiao Fei Xia.
Without realizing it at first, following your work gave me a reason to use Chinese almost every single day. I listened to your interviews, watched your performances, read your posts and followed your projects. I began translating your interviews and other materials from Chinese into English. Every new interview introduced me to unfamiliar expressions. Every song encouraged me to listen more carefully. Every piece I translated challenged me to understand a little more.
Somewhere along the way, Chinese stopped being merely a language I had once tried to study.
It became something alive.
And my ability to understand it grew more than I ever expected.
So thank you, Xiao Zhan, for helping me improve my Chinese. But even more importantly, thank you for helping me rediscover a part of myself that I had never fully understood before.
Through following you, I became more curious about where I came from. I began paying closer attention to the Chinese language, traditions, history, art and culture. Things that had once felt distant gradually began to feel more personal.
You made me want to know my roots rather than simply know that I had them.
And perhaps that is one of the most unexpected gifts of finding you: somehow, I found my way back to a part of myself that had always been there, but that I had never really known how to reach.
I will always remember watching you sing “My Motherland and I” on the Great Wall. My knowledge of Chinese history is still limited, and I know there is so much I have yet to learn, but something about that performance moved me deeply. There was such strength in it, yet also such gentleness. You carried yourself with dignity and quiet conviction, and seeing you standing there against one of the most recognizable symbols of China stirred something in me that was difficult to put into words.
For perhaps the first time, I felt not only that I was watching a beautiful performance, but that I was looking toward a part of my own heritage and beginning to understand why it mattered to me.
That feeling has stayed with me.
One of the qualities I admire in you is the affection and respect you show for your country and culture. I love seeing the beauty, history, artistry and refined elegance of Chinese culture expressed through your performances and your work. Because of you, I have found myself wanting to learn more, understand more and experience more for myself.
And one day, I hope I will finally visit China — not simply as a traveller seeing a new place, but as someone hoping to understand more deeply the roots that have always been mine.
It is strange and wonderful to think that so much of this began because, one morning in October 2020, my television happened to be on the right channel at exactly the right moment.
Life really is serendipitous.
Happy 35th birthday, Xiao Zhan.
Thank you for continuing to approach life with an open and curious heart. Thank you for continuing to explore, challenge yourself and venture into the unknown. And thank you for all the unexpected ways your path has encouraged me to grow alongside you.
May 35 bring you new landscapes to explore, new things to learn, meaningful work that excites you, people who cherish you, quiet days that restore you and countless little moments that make you genuinely happy.
May you continue living by your own clock, in your own time zone, without ever feeling the need to race anyone else. And may the things meant for you continue to find you at exactly the right moment.
Life brought me to you by chance, but everything that came after has meant far more to me than I ever could have expected.
So keep following that curious heart of yours, Xiao Zhan.
Wherever it leads you next, I hope the road is kind to you.
Happy birthday — and thank you for letting us walk a little of that road beside you.
With metta,
欣欣海外小飞侠
我们最亲爱的肖战，生日快乐！
走进35岁，看到如今的你愈发从容、笃定，也越来越自在地成为自己，真的让我感到由衷地开心。
35岁，是一个很特别的年龄。你依然年轻，人生依旧充满无限可能；但与此同时，这一路走来的经历，也让你对自己有了更深的认识。它仿佛是人生第二篇章的开始——更了解自己一些，更相信自己一些，也能带着更多的自信与从容，走在属于自己的路上。
而35岁最美妙的地方或许就在于：这个数字听起来好像已经很成熟了，可真正的35岁，其实依然如此年轻。
前方，还有很长很长的路可以走。
人生有时真的充满了美好的机缘与巧合。
回到2016年，你守着自己的初心，也愿意顺着生活的流向继续往前走，走向一个或许从未被你完全规划过的未来。那时的你24岁，即将25岁，带着对未知世界的好奇，也带着不断学习、探索和发掘自身更多可能的渴望，选择继续往演艺和表演艺术的世界里走得更深一些。
回望你的故事，我才发现，这份探索世界的心，好像一直都在你身上。
小时候的你，曾经对浩瀚的宇宙充满好奇。上了大学以后，你在完成学业的同时，也积极参加各种社团和活动，接触音乐，接触表演，体验不同的事物。后来，在二十多岁的时候，人生又迎来了一个意想不到的转弯，你就这样走上了舞台，以男团成员的身份正式出道。
你的故事常常让我想起，其实人生从来就没有一张所有人都必须遵循的时间表。
我们总是忍不住望向身边的人，用别人的进度衡量自己，担心自己是不是走得太慢了，是不是已经来得太晚了。
可也许，我们从来都没有所谓的“太早”或“太晚”。
每个人，都只是活在属于自己的时区里。
而我想，这大概就是我心里的“肖战时区”吧——不是追赶别人的时钟，而是相信属于自己的人生节奏。
你不需要和别人从同一个地方出发，也不需要在别人抵达的时候同时抵达。曾经经历过的一切，从来都不是绕路，更不是被浪费的时间。那些过去，一点一点塑造了后来真正站上舞台的你。
你在属于自己的时刻抵达，也一直按照属于自己的步伐，坚定地往前走。
你面对生活的方式，一直都有一种很动人的开放与坦然。你愿意尝试，愿意学习，也愿意走出熟悉的范围，看看前面的路究竟会把你带到哪里。
你看起来沉稳安静，可在那份从容之下，一直住着一颗愿意冒险的心——有活力，有好奇，也始终对生活抱着热情。
而现在，当你走进35岁这一章，我相信，这份探索世界的心依然会带着你去往新的地方，拥有新的经历，也遇见一个又一个全新的自己。
希望未来的岁月，能为你的故事增添更丰富的色彩和质感，也带给你许多意料之外的美好发现。
谢谢你，愿意让我们这些小飞侠，一路陪着你走这一程。
而我与你的相遇，同样源于一场偶然。
2020年10月的一个早晨，我家的电视刚好停在了那个频道，也刚好是在那个时间。
你正在唱《夜空中最亮的星》。
有时候，人生里最微小不过的一个巧合，却会悄悄改变之后的方向。
我听见你的声音，看着你唱歌，那一刻，心里仿佛有什么被触动了。甚至在我还没有办法解释那种感觉之前，我就已经知道，我想多了解一点正在唱歌的这个人。
我想听更多你的音乐，想看更多你的作品，也想看看，如果从这里开始跟着你往前走，这条路究竟会把我带向哪里。
那时候的我怎么也不会想到，这一次偶然的相遇，后来竟会给我的生活带来这么多东西。
谢谢你的音乐。
谢谢你愿意把自己的声音和才华分享给这个世界。
也谢谢那个意料之外的瞬间，让两个身处世界两端、原本毫无交集的人，竟然以这样的方式有了相遇的可能。
从2020年10月的那一天开始，你以许多我从未预料过的方式，慢慢影响了我的生活。
虽然我是华裔，却出生并成长在加拿大。人生很长一段时间里，我对中国、中文以及中国文化的了解，其实少得令人意外。
我不会读中文，也不会写中文。直到大学二年级，我才终于开始认真学习这门语言。
即使如此，那时候的进步依然很慢。生活里几乎没有什么机会可以练习，因为我们每天使用的语言始终都是英语。
后来，我成为了你的小飞侠。
一开始，我甚至没有意识到，关注你的作品，竟然给了我一个几乎每天都使用中文的理由。
我听你的采访，看你的演出，读你的动态，关注你的作品和每一个新的项目。我开始尝试把你的采访以及其他资料从中文翻译成英文。
每一次新的采访，都会让我遇见从前不熟悉的表达。
每一首歌，都让我更认真地去听懂里面的字句。
每一次翻译，也都在推着我比过去再多理解一点。
不知道从什么时候开始，中文不再只是一门我曾经努力学过的语言。
它慢慢变得鲜活了起来。
而我的中文理解能力，也在不知不觉中进步得远远超过了我曾经的想象。
所以，谢谢你，肖战。
谢谢你让我的中文越来越好。
但比这更加重要的是，谢谢你让我重新认识了自己身上那个过去从未真正了解过的部分。
因为一路关注着你，我开始更加好奇自己从哪里来。
我开始更认真地去了解中文，去留意中国的传统、历史、艺术和文化。那些曾经离我很遥远的东西，也一点一点地变得与我有关。
你让我不再只是“知道”自己有根，而是真正想去认识自己的根。
而这或许就是与你相遇以后，我收到的最意想不到的一份礼物——
不知不觉间，我竟然循着这条路，重新走近了自己的一部分。
那一部分其实一直都在那里，只是过去的我，从来不知道该怎样走近它。
我一直都会记得，你站在长城上唱《我和我的祖国》的样子。
直到现在，我对中国历史的了解依然很有限，也知道自己还有太多太多需要学习的东西。可是那一次的表演，却深深触动了我。
里面有一种力量，却又同时带着温柔。
你站在那里，沉稳、端正，也带着一种安静而坚定的力量。当我看着你以长城——这个世界上最具代表性的中国符号之一——为背景唱歌时，心里被唤起了一种很难用语言准确形容的感受。
也许是第一次，我感觉自己不只是在看一场美好的表演。
我仿佛也在隔着屏幕，望向属于自己文化根源的一部分，并开始慢慢明白，它为什么会对我如此重要。
这种感觉，一直留在我的心里。
我很欣赏你身上的一点，就是你对自己的国家和文化所怀有的那份热爱与尊重。
我喜欢看你通过自己的作品和舞台，让中国文化里的美、历史、艺术与典雅气韵自然地呈现出来。
也因为你，我越来越想多学一点，多懂一点，也希望有一天，能够亲自去感受更多。
我也希望，终有一天，我能够真正踏上中国的土地。
不是单纯以一个游客的身份，去看看一个陌生的地方，而是带着想要更加了解自己的心，去走近那些原本就属于我的根。
现在回头想想，真的觉得既奇妙，又不可思议。
这一切，竟然只是因为2020年10月的那个早晨，我家的电视刚好停在了那个频道，又刚好是在那个时间。
人生，真的有太多奇妙的缘分。
肖战，35岁生日快乐！
谢谢你直到今天，依然带着那颗开放而好奇的心去面对生活。
谢谢你依然愿意探索，愿意挑战自己，也愿意走向那些未知的地方。
更谢谢你，因为你走过的路，也在许多我从未预料过的地方，鼓励着我一起成长。
愿35岁带给你更多值得探索的风景，更多值得学习的新事物，也带给你让你心生热爱、同时又充满意义的工作。
愿你的身边始终有珍惜你的人，也愿你拥有足够宁静的时光，让身心慢慢恢复；更愿生活里那些细小而真实的快乐，常常来到你的身边。
愿你继续按照自己的时钟生活，待在属于自己的时区里，不必追赶任何人。
也愿那些真正属于你的，都能在恰到好处的时刻来到你身边。
人生让我偶然遇见了你，可从那之后发生的一切，对我的意义，却远远超过了当初的我所能想象。
所以，肖战，请继续跟着你那颗好奇的心往前走吧。
无论它下一次会把你带向哪里，都愿前方的路待你温柔。
生日快乐。
也谢谢你，愿意让我们陪在你身边，和你一起走过这段路。
怀着慈心，
欣欣海外小飞侠
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