The Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy

* * *

*1 Most of the guests left five or ten dollars each, except Mrs. Lee Yong Chien, who never left anything. “I do all my giving through the Lee Family Foundation” was what she always said.

*2 Hokkien for “Gotten so old!”

*3 Hokkien for “bear a child.”

*4 Methodist Girls’ School, which we Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) boys used to call Monkey Girls’ School.

*5 A spicy noodle soup dish served with cockles, fish cake, and thick rice noodles.

*6 Singlish for “cannot endure it.”

CHAPTER THREE

RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL, NEW YORK

Patti Smith was in the middle of belting out “Because the Night” when Nicholas Young’s cell phone began lighting up like a firecracker in his jeans pocket. Nick ignored the call, but when the lights came up after the concert’s final encore, he glanced at the screen and was surprised to find one voice mail from his cousin Astrid, another from his best friend Colin Khoo, and five text messages from his mother. His mother never texted. He didn’t think she even knew how to text. The messages read:

ELEANOR YOUNG: 4?Z Nicky#

ELEANOR YOUNG: p lease cakk me at once! Where are y

ELEANOR YOUNG: oy? Why don’t you answered any of your phines?

ELEANOR YOUNG: Ah Ma had a massive heat attack!

ELEANOR YOUNG: C allhome now!

Nick handed the phone to his wife, Rachel, and sank into his seat. After the euphoric high of the concert, he felt like someone had suddenly knocked all the wind out of him.

Rachel read the text messages quickly and looked up at Nick in alarm. “Don’t you think you’d better call?”

“Yeah, I guess I should,” Nick replied. “Let’s get out of here first, though. I need some air.”

—

As the two of them exited Radio City Music Hall, they hurried across Sixth Avenue to avoid the crowds still milling under the famous marquee. Nick paced around the plaza outside the Time & Life Building to make his call. There was that familiar dead pause for a few seconds, usually followed by the distinctive Singapore ringtone, but today, his mother’s voice abruptly came onto the line before he was ready for it.

“NICKY? Nicky, ah? Is that you?”

“Yes, Mum, it’s me. Can you hear me?”

“Aiyah, why did you take so long to call back? Where are you?”

“I was at a concert when you called.”

“A concert? Did you go to Lincoln Center?”

“No, it was a rock concert at Radio City Music Hall.”

“What? You went to see those Rockette girls with the kicking legs?”

“No, Mum, it was a ROCK CONCERT, not the Rockettes.”

“A ROCK CONCERT! Alamak, I hope you wore earplugs. I read that people are losing their hearing younger and younger now because they keep going to those rock-and-roll concerts. All those heepees with long hair are going stone-deaf. Serves them right.”

“The volume was fine, Mum—Radio City has some of the best acoustics in the world. Where are you?”