Picking the Golden Romance

Singapore

After making a few crucial calls, Eleanor finally identified the source of the disturbing rumor about her son.Daisy confessed that she heard it from her daughter-in-law's best friend, Rebecca Don, who said her brother Moses Don told her.Moses, who had studied at Cambridge with Leonard Champ, broke the news to Eleanor:
"I was in London for a conference and afterward Leonor invited me to dinner at his estate in the Surrey countryside. Have you been there, Mrs Young? Oh, it's spectacular! I didn't know that The house was designed by Gabriel Hippolyte de Thayer - the same architect who built the Waddesdon estate for the Rothschilds in England. Anyway, we had some foreign guests and visitors from Singapore The congressmen had dinner together, and Cassandra Shang was still the same, surrounded by many people... Cassandra suddenly said loudly to your sister-in-law Victoria Young at the dinner table: 'You will never believe me I heard...Nicky is dating a Taiwanese girl from New York recently and is taking her back to Singapore for the Khoo family's wedding!' And Victoria said: 'Are you sure? Taiwanese? God, he won't Are you in love with a loser?" Cassandra said again: "Probably not as bad as you think! According to my reliable sources of information, she is the Zhu family, that is, the Zhu family from Taipei Plastics, although not What a wealthy family, but at least their family is considered a well-established family in Taiwan.'”

In any other case, Eleanor would have dismissed it all as the gossip of her husband's boring relatives.But it was Cassandra, the so-called "Asian Broadcasting Lady," who said it, and her news was usually spot on.Eleanor wondered how Cassandra would know the latest "scoop". After all, Nicky was the last thing she wanted to confide in her big-mouthed cousin.Cassandra must have heard the news from her spies in New York, all over the place, each willing to give her hot tips.

Eleanor wasn't surprised that her son might have a new girlfriend, but what surprised (or rather "annoyed") her was that she was only now learning about it!

It is generally accepted that Nicky is the first choice for marriage. Over the years, he has changed many girlfriends and thinks he has kept his mother in the dark.Those girls didn't matter at all to Eleanor, because she knew very well that her son didn't want to marry yet.

But this time is different.

Eleanor had long believed in a theory about men.With all her heart, she believed that men's talk of "love" or "finding the right woman" was complete nonsense.Marriage is purely a matter of timing, when a man has had enough fun and is ready to settle down, any girl who happens to show up at that time will be his one.She's seen this theory proven many times - including herself catching Philip Young at just the right time.

Men in the Yang family usually complete lifelong events around the age of 30, and now Nicky is simply within reach.If the New York girl knew all about Nicky's relationship status and he really decided to take her home to his best friend's wedding, then something must have happened.So Nicky deliberately didn't mention her existence to her family, which seriously derailed Eleanor's meticulous plan.

A newly completed penthouse villa is located on Jingxi Road. The afterglow of the setting sun shines into the house through its floor-to-ceiling windows, and the atrium-like living room is immediately bathed in deep orange light.

Eleanor stared at the evening sky, and had a panoramic view of the row of buildings clustered on Scotts Road and the Keppel Shipyard stretching across the Singapore River to the world's largest trading port.Even after 34 years of marriage, she still doesn't take it for granted to sit here and admire one of the most admired attractions in all of Singapore.

As far as Eleanor is concerned, everyone has a place in her carefully constructed inner society, as do most of the women around her.Eleanor could meet another Asian in any corner of the world—say, over dim sum at Dynasty Hong Kong in London, or in the lingerie department of David Jones in Sydney—and learn within 30 seconds The other party's name and address.She then implements the social algorithm she created to calculate where these people fall on her social coordinates based on their families, relationships, possible total assets, sources of wealth, and whether there have been family scandals in the past 50 years.

The Zhu family of Taipei Plastics Corporation is a new wealthy class that has only emerged in recent years, probably in the 80s and [-]s.What worries Eleanor is that she knows next to nothing about the family: what is their status in Taipei?Who are the parents of this girl?How much inheritance does she have about the family property? ... She had to figure out what was going on.

It's 45:[-] a.m. New York time, just in time to wake Nicky up.

Eleanor picked up the phone with one hand, and held her usual international calling card with the other hand (Chinese born in rich families hate wasting money on long-distance calls, just as they don’t like spent on fluffy towels, bottled water, restaurant reservations, expensive western food, taxis, and classes other than economy), squinting at the tiny number printed on the card.She first dialed a series of complicated passwords, and after listening to a few beeps, she finally entered the phone dialing stage.

The phone goes to Nick's voicemail after four rings: "Hey, I can't answer right now, please leave a message and I'll call back asap."

Whenever Eleanor heard her son's "American" accent, she always felt a little dismayed, preferring the standard English accent that he returned to Singapore when he returned to Singapore.She stammered on the phone, "Nicky, where are you? Call me tonight and tell me when your flight is. Everyone wants me to ask when you're coming home, and whether you'll be home first or not?" To Mamaw's? Call me again, don't call after midnight, I'll sleep at least eight hours after I take my sleeping pills."

After hanging up the phone, she picked up the receiver almost immediately - this time dialing a string of cell phone numbers.

"Astrid? Is that you?"

"Oh, hi, Aunt El," said Astrid.

"Are you okay? The voice sounds a little strange."

"I'm fine, just sleeping." Astrid cleared her throat.

"Oh, why did you go to bed so early? Are you unwell?"

"No. I'm in Paris now, Aunt El."

"Oh, I forgot you were abroad! Sorry for waking you up. Is Paris fun?"

"great!"

"Did you buy a lot of things?"

"Not a lot." Astrid answered as patiently as possible, while muttering in her heart: Did my aunt really just call to ask her about shopping?
"Is LV still drawing a line for Asians to line up?"

"I don't know, I haven't stepped into a LV store for more than ten years, Aunt El."

"It's good. Line drawing is really bad, and they only allow Asians to buy one item. Reminds me of when Japan invaded China, and the Japanese forced all Chinese to line up in the line to get bits and pieces of rotten food."

"But I can understand why they need to keep order, Aunt El, you should see for yourself how those Asian tourists look for high-end goods - not just Louis Vuitton, they buy almost everywhere. As long as it is a brand-name thing , they all buy it, it’s really crazy. And you also know that some people buy famous brands and return them to resell them to make a profit.”

"Yeah, it's all those bumpkin tourists who are ruining us Asians. But I've been shopping in Paris since the 70's - I'm never going to line up in line for someone to teach me how to shop! Stop that, Astor Reed, I wanted to ask you... have you been in touch with Nicky lately?"

Astrid paused: "Oh, he called me a few weeks ago."

"Did he tell you when he will return to Singapore?"

"No, he didn't say an exact date. But I'm pretty sure he'll be back a few days before Colin's wedding, isn't he?"

"You know, Nicky didn't tell me anything!" Eleanor stopped suddenly, and then said cautiously: "By the way, I want to hold a surprise party for him and his girlfriend, just in our new apartment." Small party welcomes her to play in Singapore. What do you think of the idea?"

"Sure, Aunt El, I think they'll be very happy." Astrid was surprised that her aunt had welcomed Rachel so well.Nick must have pulled out all the stops.

"But I don't know what she likes, so I don't know how to prepare this party. Can you give me some advice? Did you meet her when you went to New York last year?"

"Yes, I have."

Eleanor was furious.Astrid stayed in New York in March last year, which means that this girl has existed for at least a year.

"What kind of person is she? Is her style very 'Taiwanese'?" she asked.

"Very 'Taiwan'? Not at all. To me, her style is very American." Astrid regretted it as soon as she said it.

Terrible.thought Eleanor.She has always thought that Asian girls with American accents are ridiculous, and it feels fake to listen to them, as if they want others to think they are "red-haired".

"So although she is from a Taiwanese family, she grew up in America?"

"Honestly, I didn't know she was from Taiwan at all."

"Really? Didn't she tell you about her family in Taipei?"

"No." What exactly does Aunt El want to know?Astrid knew her aunt was trying to trick her, so she felt compelled to put the best side of Rachel in front of her aunt: "She's smart and talented, Aunt El, I think you'll like it." her."

"Oh, so she's as smart as Nicky?"

"Yes, I heard that she is a very powerful professor in her field."

Eleanor panicked when she heard this: Professor!Nicky is dating a professor!Oh my God, this woman couldn't be older than him, could she?

"Nicky didn't tell me what her major was."

"Oh, economic development."

A cunning, calculating woman.Gosh, it's really getting worse!
"Did she go to college in New York?" Eleanor went on.

"No, she went to Stanford University, in California."

"Really? Yes, I know Stanford University." Eleanor's tone was dissatisfied: it was the school in California for people who couldn't get into Harvard.

"It's a top school, Aunt El." Astrid knew very well what her aunt was thinking at this moment.

"Well, I think if forced to go to an American university—"

"Come on, Aunt Elle, Stanford is a great university anywhere, and she's doing her Ph.D. at Northwestern. Rachel is not only smart, she's competent, she's very down-to-earth. I think you'll like her."

"Oh, I will," replied Eleanor absent-mindedly.So "her" name is Rachel.Eleanor pondered for a while, she still needs a little information - what is the woman's last name.But how would she both keep Astrid from being suspicious and get her out of her mouth?

She suddenly had an idea: "I'm going to order a cake from Awfully Chocolate, and ask the store to write her name on it. Do you know which 'ㄓㄨ (pinyin zhu)' her surname is? It's Zhu Yuanzhang's 'Zhu', princes The 'Zhu' of Yubu, or the 'Zhu' of Yubu?"

"I think it's Zhu Yuanzhang's 'Zhu'."

"Thank you, you have been a great help," thought Eleanor, much more than you thought.

"No, Aunt El. Let me know if you need help with your party, I can't wait to visit your beautiful apartment."

"Oh, haven't you seen it? I thought your mother bought one too!"

"Maybe, but I haven't seen it. I can't keep up with how fast they're buying properties."

"Of course, your parents have houses all over the world, unlike me and your Uncle Philip, who don't have much money. We only have a house in Sydney and this little flat."

"Oh, I don't think this apartment is small at all, Aunt El. Isn't this the most luxurious apartment built in Singapore at the moment?" Astrid wondered why her relatives always borrowed Publish the assets under your name to show your sense of superiority.

"No, it's just a simple apartment - no match for your dad's house. Well, I'm sorry for waking you up. Do you need anything to help you sleep? I take fifty milligrams of Ami every night Tiline, if I really want to sleep longer, I'll take another fifteen milligrams of sleeping pills, and sometimes a Zopiclone. If that doesn't work, I'll take out the diazepam—"

"I'm fine, Aunt El."

"Okay, then...bye!" After finishing speaking, Eleanor hung up the phone.

She had made the right bet: the cousins ​​were very close, why didn't she think of calling Astrid sooner?