Crazy Rich Asians

Nick reveals to Rachel that his parents not only have no idea that she’s coming with him to Singapore, but they don’t know she exists. Rachel worries that he’s ashamed of her, but he reassures her that it’s not like that. He insists that his family will love her, just like Astrid does. Rachel calls her mom, and she suggests that Nick’s family may be poor and extremely traditional, and he may have concealed their relationship to prevent them from worrying. She tells Rachel that it’s good that he’s introducing her to his family properly. Still worried, Rachel has a conversation with Peik Lin over Skype about dating Nick, a fellow Singaporean. Peik Lin says she hasn’t heard of the Young family, so they must not be rich, which Rachel doesn’t care about. Peik Lin also reassures Rachel that, if she likes Nick, he must come from a family that she will also like.

Astrid returns home to Singapore, hiding her expensive purchases from Paris from her husband and spending time with her son. Her glamorous home life, even with her chefs, housekeepers, and nannies, is still a bit of a step down from how she grew up. She was prepped to become the perfect, rich wife and mother from the time she was a child, educated at the best schools, and expected to marry a man from a good family by 25, but Astrid lives by her own rules. When she was young, she became engaged to Charlie Wu, but her parents encouraged her to break the engagement because he had no illustrious family lineage and was new money.

Eventually, after years of being a socialite in Paris, Astrid became engaged to Michael Teo, a man with no money and no family pedigree. Her parents only accepted him after learning that he had good credentials and a good education. Michael arrives at their Singapore apartment later that night, and they have dinner together. He asks her if she bought expensive dresses, and she lies that she did not buy many. They make love, having been apart for a while. Afterward, Michael goes to take a shower and Astrid mistakes his phone for hers and reads a text that says, “MISS U NSIDE ME” (72). She realizes that the message was sent to Michael.

Edison Cheng stands in the climate-controlled, walk-in closet in Leo Ming’s new mansion. Leo comes from new money, and though Eddie is his friend, he is insanely jealous of his lifestyle. Eddie married Fiona Tung, an old-money Hong Kong heiress, and has three children with her: Constantine, Augustine, and Kalliste. They live in a duplex penthouse, own lots of cars, and dress in the finest clothes, but Eddie still feels like his friends, like Leo, are doing better than him. He worries that his grandmother won’t die soon enough to leave him the large inheritance he feels entitled to, and he hates that his family lives relatively modestly compared to his new-money friends in Hong Kong. However, he feels that he has an advantage over Leo because being old money got Eddie invited to Colin Khoo’s wedding, and Leo is not invited.

Rachel is surprised that she and Nick will be flying first class to Singapore. Nick brushes this off, claiming to have used frequent flyer miles for the trip. They sit in a luxury suite and are offered accommodations like cocktails, a large television screen, and designer blankets.

Back in 2008, Rachel was introduced to Nick by their mutual friend, Sylvia, who also worked at NYU. Rachel was initially uninterested in him because she had experiences with Asian men that turned her off. She felt that they put Asian girls through “the SATs,” a series of questions about their looks, genetics, family, and education that would determine whether they would be suitable wives (98). However, Nick didn’t seem to have any agenda, and she found that she enjoyed his company. She enjoyed being with him so much that he “was the first man she could truly imagine as her husband” (100).

Astrid and Michael go to meet the Leongs at the Colonial Club dining room. Michael owns a tech company, so Astrid’s oldest brother Henry asks him to fix his son’s Xbox. Michael agrees to look at it after his business trip, but Astrid can tell he is uncomfortable with being asked to do IT. She tells her family that he is a high-level programmer that used to work for the defense ministry. Throughout their meal, Astrid notices that Michael is faking his smile. She can’t help but remember the illicit text that she saw on his phone. She recalls earlier in the afternoon when she went through his pants and found a receipt for an expensive, French restaurant in Hong Kong, showing that he purchased dinner for two. Her suspicion that he is cheating grows, but she tries to ignore the evidence.