Eighties Hong Kong Star: From Teahouse Girl to Best Actress

[Ambitious Heroine + Hong Kong Showbiz Comeback + Native-Born Protagonist + No Golden Finger]

Hong Kong, 1983. Behind the glittering nightlife lurked countless power struggles.

Eighteen-year-old Ye Ni grew up in a tenement in Yau Ma Tei, and was prettier than the actresses on TVB. The neighbors called her a “little fox,” while her mother resented that she wasn’t as obedient as her younger brother and called her a “money-losing burden.” Desperate to escape her cramped life, she gritted her teeth and entered the Miss Hong Kong pageant.

In a red gown, she took the stage, dazzling everyone. Controversy and applause followed in equal measure. She became the youngest Miss Hong Kong winner in history, but also earned herself the insults “pretty face” and “scheming woman.”

At the television station, she was used as background scenery and humiliated by a director who told her to her face, “You act like a block of wood.” She recorded until her throat bled, only to hear, “Miss Hong Kong winners should just get married and retire.” Gossip rags filled their pages with scandalous rumors that she had slept her way to the top.

While everyone waited to see her make a fool of herself, she strode through the rumors in four-inch heels, carving out a path through the world of fame and fortune. “I want to be the leading lady, and build a dynasty of my own.”

From bit parts to Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards; from off-key songs to the Golden Melody Awards; from “plaything of the rich” to business magnate.

Years later, during an interview with Ming Pao, a reporter asked pointedly, “They say you rose to the top by relying on men?”

She smiled sweetly at the camera. “Wrong. They relied on me to make their names in Hong Kong’s history.”

(Her mother is rarely mentioned after Chapter 17, and they truly sever ties in Chapter 42.)

[Reader’s Guide]

- No one is reborn, no transmigration, no pocket dimension, no System: the heroine is a true native.

- Mostly a realistic portrayal of Hong Kong entertainment, and a tribute to the stars of its golden age.