In 1993, at noon in the summer of Hong Kong, five-year-old Cai Shaofen sat downstairs in the community with a doll in her arms, with an innocent smile on the corner of her mouth. Upstairs suddenly came the sound of a mother arguing loudly with an uncle, followed by the cry of my brother in pain, accompanied by the sound of broken glassware.
Cai Shaofen ran upstairs in a panic, entered the house, and saw her mother lying on the ground with blood on her face, and a hooligan thug carrying a stickball bat was about to wave it again.
"Don't hit my mom!" Cai Shaofen cried and threw herself over and hugged her mother.
It turned out that it was my mother who owed usury outside and couldn't repay it, so the creditor sent someone to collect the debt, and after verbal intimidation, he started beating people. This is not the first time. Since my father left, my mother has been addicted to gambling all day long, and she has incurred more and more debts, and the family is often harassed by creditors.
Now, Cai Shaofen and her brother can only follow their mother to live a life of displacement, not to mention food and clothing, even the basic sense of security is a problem.
In 1992, it was a hazy winter day. 19-year-old Cai Shaofen had red circles under her eyes and slowly walked into the mansion of the wealthy Liu Luanxiong. She felt the road ahead of her be confused.
It was a choice she had to make. In order to pay off her mother's huge gambling debts, she had no choice but to sell herself and be at the mercy of this middle-aged man.
At first, Liu Luanxiong's wife was relatively tolerant. But gradually, Cai Shaofen received more and more white eyes and cynicism. Everyone is scolding her for being a money worshipper and falling in love with a rich man without a lower limit.
Her reputation was trampled in the dirt. It's clear that she is a victim, but no one understands.
Several years have passed, and at the age of 25, she finally held back her strength and made achievements in her acting career. The joy that comes from her career abounds, and the infamy and pain she bears continues to grow.
She would hide in the bathroom alone and sob, finally stopping her tears, and wash her face to hide her scars to face the reporter's camera flash.
It was a cold and windy afternoon in 1996. Cai Shaofen walks alone on a bridge in San Francisco, which offers spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay.
She quietly walked to the edge of the bridge, stepped on the railing, and watched the waves churning beneath her feet.
The wind blew through her long hair and clothes. At this moment, she just wanted to jump off the ocean, fall into the ocean, and end her short and painful 25 years of life.
She was so tired and tired that she didn't want to struggle in this cruel world anymore.
At this moment, she woke up suddenly, and finally realized that she couldn't be so irresponsible. She wants to live, in order to give an account of her life.
In 2001, Wu Qilong and Cai Shaofen suddenly announced their breakup, which caused an uproar in the entertainment industry. Cai Shaofen was in pain, she always thought that it was all caused by her past, and her history of fostering was the real culprit.
She felt that she owed Wu Qilong too much.
Within a few days, Wu Qilong had a scandal with Ma Yashu, a young actor who was 7 years younger than Cai Shaofen. This is undoubtedly adding insult to injury. Cai Shaofen cried alone until late at night, blaming himself for not accepting Wu Qilong's pursuit, he deserved a better woman.
In this way, day after day, Cai Shaofen buried herself in the quagmire of filming. She told herself that work was my salvation and that I could forget about the sadness for a while.
But every time I am alone, tears still come out of my eyes without fighting, and I can't cover them, so I can only cover up my scars with makeup again.
In 2003, the shadow of breaking up with Wu Qilong still haunts Cai Shaofen's heart. On this day, she came to the set of a costume drama and immediately saw Zhang Jin, a dragon actor she knew 3 years ago because she could speak Cantonese.
The two greeted each other, and then chatted again, as if there was some kind of special telepathy between the two.
Unlike Wu Qilong, Zhang Jin does not mind Cai Shaofen's past, and never complains that she works in the mainland all year round. He just paid silently on the side, warming Cai Shaofen's hurt heart.
Cai Shaofen feels like the happiest woman in the world. Five years later, the two officially entered the palace of marriage.
Now, looking at my three children, Cai Shaofen often says that the biggest pride in my life is marrying Zhang Jin. When I met him, I didn't come in vain in my life. I don't know if I'm qualified to judge what a true son is, but he's undoubtedly the best thing I've done in my life.
In 2000, Cai Shaofen could no longer stand the high debts caused by her mother's gambling addiction, and she chose to cut off relations with her mother, publicly stating that she would not pay off any gambling debts for her mother.
This was an extremely difficult and painful decision for Cai Shaofen. The pressure of public opinion and inner self-blame made her miserable. Under this double pressure, her mother almost chose to end her life.
Fortunately, after this catastrophe, my mother finally realized that she was wrong. She deeply reflected on her behavior and truly quit her gambling addiction. And with the passage of time, the relationship between the mother and daughter is slowly repaired in mutual understanding.
This is undoubtedly the happiest thing in Cai Shaofen's life. I believe that for any woman, reconciliation with her mother is the most precious emotional wealth in the world.
Cai Shaofen is the same.
In 1998, 25-year-old Cai Shaofen won the highest honor in the Hong Kong television industry. This was not only the pinnacle of her career, but also a new record for the youngest queen at the time.
However, behind her post-Academy Award crown, there are thorns.
The public has mixed reviews and criticisms about an actor like her, who has supported a rich man and has a discredited reputation. Cai Shaofen was deeply surprised, she thought that she could be recognized at least by working hard in her career, but she didn't expect the public to still remember her past when she was "adopted".
So in those days, she often hid in the corner alone and cried, but in the blink of an eye, she had to face the camera with a smile. She didn't want the public to see her weakness.
11 years later, with a "The Legend of Zhen Huan", she became famous again. However, fate makes people, and the public's criticism of her still exists. She finally understood that she was destined to be a person who was "unbeatable" in her life.
Today's Cai Shaofen is already a well-respected actress inside and outside the circle. Her husband Zhang Jin, who has been with her for 20 years, has also climbed step by step from a trick to the throne of an actor with the full support of Cai Shaofen.
Looking back on Cai Shaofen's life, there are indeed ups and downs, sweetness and pain coexist. She lived a much more painful life than ordinary people, and was not tolerated too much by the ignorance of the world. However, the meaning of life is not in the starting point, but in whether the process is tenacious.
Cai Shaofen uses her own story and fate to completely interpret what it means to be strong and what it means to face life bravely. From now on, no matter how many unknown storms are coming her life, I believe that with her resilience, she will definitely face it more positively, because this is her understanding of the essence of life.
She deserves to be remembered by this era, because she represents the benchmark for contemporary women to strive for self-improvement and forge ahead. I believe that her story will inspire more people, as her name suggests: Shaofen, meaning to thrive.