Master Li Fights His Way Through Hollywood [The 1960S]

Martial arts prodigy Li Zhizhen transmigrates into an American novel set in the 1960s. America is a paradise for dreamers, and Hollywood is paved with gold, but only white people are allowed to pick it up. Beyond this paradise, the fires of the civil rights movement lick at the fences of racial segregation. Li Zhizhen becomes an Asian American high school student in 1960, trapped in a world of white bullying. Her adoptive mother is pressuring her to drop out and marry an old man from Chinatown. In the book, the original owner works part-time as a Hollywood extra to help support the family, forced to wear revealing clothes and deliver explicit lines on camera. The director tries to trade a role for sex, then mocks her, saying a yellow person could only dream of becoming a movie star. In the end, as the audience jeers, the original owner takes her own life in the back row of a theater. Li Zhizhen’s fists clench just thinking about it. When her cheap adoptive younger brother Brian comes looking for trouble, she punches his braces right out of his mouth. She’s used to being the best, and she has a bit of a temper. After that, whether it’s a musclebound jock, a blonde mean girl, gang members, or even a movie studio boss, anyone who rubs her the wrong way gets punched. A bombshell? As long as her fists are strong, the best roles should belong to her. Even when martial arts films fall out of favor, Li Zhizhen draws on her superb acting skills to excel in different genres. She works with countless great directors, takes home every major award, and becomes a legend. The night she serves as chair of the Oscar jury, a Tonight Show host interviews her: “Do you think your success is because you’re such a good fighter?” Li Zhizhen replies nonchalantly, “I just waited a long time, and no one who could fight ever showed up.” Romantic interests: Junior martial arts uncle / rock idol / F1 driver / Chinatown heir / blonde cop… All the men are C-rank. Theme: Fear no obstacles, and never stop striving.