kaye-paula

Taiwanese idol drama lead actress Ariel Lin who has a sweet appearance and is loved by many, has been hard-working and thrifty ever since she entered the industry, she has never been too proud. Still young, she paid off her parents large debts using her own strengths and half a year ago, won Taiwan's Golden Bell Best Actress title, her talents for acting finally receiving confirmation.

She confessed, seeing celebrity and good friend Hsu Wei Lun close to death, made her understanding a principle, that is, "to live in the present".

That day, I had taken advantage of the free time before my next drama to take a holiday in Taichung when I received the bad news, I was completely shocked. When I rushed to the Intensive Care Unit, everyone around me looked helpless, Wei Lun was peacefully lying there, she had a breathing mechanism attached to her, her hair had been completely cut, her lips and eyes were swollen, the air was filled with a strong smell of blood, I could almost feel her spirit standing next to me..."

At the time, Ariel sunk into a state of confusion, not knowing what was best. She said, she didn't shout, she didn't cry, she only kept saying quietly, "Wei Lun, you don't have to hesitate. Whether it's death or life, just go forward with courage."

Ariel said, she was deeply affected by Wei Lun's death. At the time, they were both female leads in idol dramas. Onscreen, they both displayed promising talent while offscreen, they were good friends that talked about everything, often phoning and texting to give each other words of encouragement and support.

"Hsu Wei Lun had a well-off family background and she was as kind as an angel. Knowing that my family background wasn't great, every time we went out to eat, she would kindly give me a small gift, and she was very open-minded, willing to talk about anything, whether it be work, feelings."

Thinking about that day, the scene of Hsu Wei Lun dying, Ariel choked with sobs. Every beautiful thing about her good friend while she was alive, has filled Ariel with strong emotions about her own life. Ariel said, "After entering showbiz, I've rarely talked to the outside world about my single-parent family background. When I was five, my father left our family. My mother was afraid we'd be upset, so she lied to us, saying dad had to go overseas for business trips so we could only see him a few times a year."

In order for her to bring up Ariel and her younger brother, Ariel's mother became an account; the money she earned wasn't enough to pay the rent as well as her children's school fees and daily expenses so she signed up for 10 credit card, using debts to pay off other debts, in over ten years, these debts accumulated to around $3 million NT.

At the time, Ariel who was in her second year of studying Korean at National Chengchi University, was unaware. She immediately became popular after acting as lead in and earned a lot. That's when her mother told her their dreadful state of debt, she could finally give a sigh of relief.

"After I calmed down, I accepted the reality that my mother had accumulated debts in order to keep our family together, so I decided to take responsibility for it, allowing my mother to give a sigh of relief."

Hence, Ariel Lin became the entertainment industry's most "stingy" expert of saving money. The money she earned from acting was strictly divided into 10, 90% was given to her mother and the remaining 10% was again split "2:2:6" into three guaranteed savings categories: "6" was money that was to be saved and not used' "2" was for money to be used only when absolutely necessary; the other "2" was for her own day-to-day expenses.

From being worth thousands to tens of thousands of dollars, Ariel could only give herself the "lowest" standard of living. Some idol groups hire three assistants, while she carried her large bag as well as smaller bags of costuming by herself, not caring at all how others may perceive her, wearing a face mask and catching public transport, watching second-run films.

Such a large debt took her three years to pay off. As she used scissors to cut up her mother's credit cards one by one, new debts would come once again. "I didn't tell my mother that I was still keeping in touch with my father, that I hoped our family would reunite. I didn't think that as the economy got worse, my father's salary as a car salesman would reduce to $10,000. This just wasn't enough for rent, food and the million-dollar debt he had to pay for his failed investment, causing a large burden on his life."

In order to achieve her dream of a family reunion, Ariel Lin persevered for another three years. In these three years, she strictly divided her earnings "1:6:3": 10% was for herself, 60% was for the mortgage while the remainder was for her family to use. In 2008, she finally bought a house worth $20 million in the east region, even sneakily taking out about $1 million from her own bank account, to pay off her father's debts.

Perhaps it was her concern for her family's livelihood that motivated her to be so determined. These past year, the "baby fat" on Ariel's face is still there, but she has evidently lost some of her childish nature and gained unswerving determination.

Talking about the suffering she experienced in acting these past seven years, Ariel said frankly that looking back, she thinks that there is sweetness in hardship and hardship in sweetness. Hsu Wei Lun's good qualities and her death, have made Ariel more resolved to be cautious and continue to work hard, she says, "People should live in the present. As long as you're alive, no matter how difficult situation, there is a chance to get through it."

Thus, when her mother had a stroke and had to stay in hospital two years ago, she insisted that her mother should quit her job and let Ariel be responsible for her day-to-day expenses. Her father is getting old and needs stable life security, so after considering for six months, she decided to hire him as her own chauffeur and she would pay him $30,000 a month. "Currently, I have two perfect assistants, one is my mother who makes me nutritional meals everyday; one is my father, making him my chauffeur, is not only safe but he's also 100% trustworthy."

Having bought a house, not only has Ariel not relaxed yet, she has been even stricter on herself. She said, no matter how late she films, she will wake up at 8 each morning to read lots of books and watch lots of movies, in order to improve her acting. To her, "Golden Bell Best Actress" is only a small step in her acting career, she hopes to become a famous performing artist in the future.

She believes popularity and wealth is the gift that comes with working hard. To her, working hard and the happy union of her family, is the happy life of "living in the present".