Over two decades, Hong Kong figure Mariane Chan stayed calm, avoided disputes, built a business empire, and maintained a low-key, principled life.
A veteran Hong Kong paparazzo who’s been following her for over two decades has never once seen Chen Miaoying lose her temper—can you believe it
? The Miss Hong Kong who was once branded the “ugliest” all over the internet has since left showbiz, built a fortune worth hundreds of millions through business, and become such close friends with a tycoon’s legitimate wife that they share everything—yet in her entire life, she’s never fought for official recognition, never had children, and wherever she goes, people can’t find a single fault with her.
In her early twenties, she followed Chen Yao-xing, known as the “Tiger of Wan Chai.” When she witnessed her boss meet with a tragic accident—an incident others couldn’t get away from fast enough—she immediately signed up to compete in the Miss Hong Kong pageant. Viewers across Hong Kong laughed at her, saying she was ugly and didn’t deserve to be on the Miss Hong Kong stage. But to everyone’s surprise, Xiang Huaqiang gave the final approval and secured her a spot at TVB
.
Later, she starred in *The Headless Eastern Palace*which took the nation by storm. Actors on the same set were scrambling to secure top billing and fight for screen time—even the supporting roles became household names. But she, on the other hand, quietly terminated her contract with TVB without saying a word. In 2000, at a dinner party, she ran into the tycoon Cai Zhiming.The next day, she took the initiative to seek him out and met directly with Choy’s legal wife. In just three crisp, straightforward sentences, she declared: “I won’t have children, I won’t fight for a formal relationship, and I won’t take
a single cent of money that isn’t rightfully mine.”
For more than twenty years after that, she lived a low-key life, treating everyone with kindness. Once she secured the startup capital, she threw herself into running the company with dedication. No matter how difficult or frustrating things got, whenever the cameras were on her, she always had a smile
on her face.
She never threw a tantrum or fought over a single penny of the family fortune; she never used anyone’s connections to cut corners. She ran her business with integrity and hard work, and in just a few years, she amassed a fortune of over 100 million. She stood there with her head held high, and no one dared to say a single word against her. To this day, she and Mrs. Cai are still best friends who can talk about anything—best friend
So many people go to great lengths only to end up with nothing to show for it. Looking at Chen Miaoying’s life—is it because she’s level-headed, or did she just get lucky?If we were in her shoes back then—stranded and with no one to rely on, the laughingstock of all Hong Kong—would we dare take that path no one else dared to take? And on the day we met the legitimate wife, would we dare to speak those three sentences with such clarity
?
