“So how did they afford to buy that painting?” Lorena asked.

“They must be spending on overdraft. The banks all know how much he’ll be worth one day, so they are only too happy to lend to him now,” Eleanor conjectured as she fiddled with a bejeweled Indian dagger.

“Aiyoh, so shameful! I can’t imagine my son ever having to borrow money from a bank!” Carol moaned.

“Well, if you say he doesn’t have any money right now, I can assure you that is what he must be doing. That’s what one of Philip’s cousins did. He was living like the Sultan of Brunei, and only when his father died did they realize he had mortgaged the house, mortgaged everything, to support his lifestyle and his two mistresses—one in Hong Kong and one in Taipei!” Eleanor said.

“Bernard has no money. He only gets about ten million a year to live on,” Carol confirmed.

“Well, definitely they must be borrowing heavily, because that Kitty seems to be spending like a siow tsah bor,”^*12 Daisy said. “What’s that you’re playing with, Elle?”

“It’s some unusual Indian dagger,” Eleanor replied. It was actually two daggers that went into opposite ends of a scabbard encrusted in cloudy, colorful gems, and she had flicked the latch open on one end and was absentmindedly sliding the small sharp knife in and out. Looking around for her hostess, she said, “Mrs. Singh, tell me about this lovely little weapon.”

Mrs. Singh, who was seated on the corner of a nearby divan chatting with another guest, glanced over for a moment.

“Oh that’s not a weapon. It’s a very ancient Hindu relic. Be careful not to open it, Eleanor, it’s very bad luck! In fact, you shouldn’t even be touching it. There is an evil spirit that’s being held captive in there by the two knives, and a great misfortune will befall your firstborn if you unleash it. Now, we don’t want anything to happen to dear Nicky, do we? So please leave that alone.”

The ladies looked at her in horror, and for one of the few times in her life, Eleanor was absolutely speechless.

*1 Hokkien for “troublesome.”

*2 Crazy Rich Chinese + Indonesia = Chindos

*3 Hokkien for “dog shit.”

*4 “Red hair” in Hokkien, this is a slang term used to refer to Caucasians of all stripes, even though the majority of Caucasians don’t have red hair (or stripes).

*5 Although this Cantonese phrase means “Scares people to death,” it is used to describe anything that’s gross or creepy.

*6 Hokkien for “You have such a good life.”

*7 Hokkien for “a very profitable business.”

*8 Malay for “toilet.”

*9 Hokkien for “Fifteenth Night,” a celebration held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to mark the official end of New Year celebrations. On this evening, single ladies will cast oranges in the river under the full moon in the hopes of finding good husbands, while everyone else in Singapore starts planning their diets.