Crazy Rich Asians Read Online Free Page B

his generation, and with all that Young money, it was such
     a pity her good-for-nothing daughter Tiffany never managed to attract him.
    “But surely you’ve heard about this girl?
The one from New York
,” Daisy said in a whisper, relishing that she was the one breaking the news to Eleanor.
    “An
American
girl? Nicky wouldn’t
dare
do such a thing. Daisy, your information is always
ta pah kay
!” ‡
    “What do you mean? My news is not
ta pah kay
—it comes from the most reliable source! Anyway, I hear she’s Chinese,” Daisy offered.
    “Really? What’s her name, and where is she from? Daisy, if you tell me she’s from
     Mainland China, I think I’ll have a stroke,” Eleanor warned.
    “I heard she’s from Taiwan,” Daisy said carefully.
    “Oh my goodness, I hope she’s not one of those Taiwanese tornadoes!” Nadine cackled.
    “What do you mean by that?” Eleanor asked.
    “You know how notorious those Taiwanese girls can be. Theyswoop in unexpectedly, the men fall head over heels, and before you know it they are
     gone, but not before sucking up every last dollar, just like a tornado,” Nadine explained.
     “I know so many men who have fallen prey—think about Mrs. K. C. Tang’s son Gerald,
     whose wife cleaned him out and ran off with all the Tang heirlooms. Or poor Annie
     Sim, who lost her husband to that lounge singer from Taipei.”
    At this moment, Carol’s husband entered the room. “Hello, hello, ladies. How is Jesus
     time today?” he said, puffing away on his cigar and swirling his goblet of Hennessy,
     looking every portly inch the caricature of an Asian tycoon.
    “Hello,
Dato’
!” the ladies said in unison, hurriedly shifting themselves into more decorous positions.
    “
Dato’
, Daisy here is trying to give me a stroke! She’s telling everyone that Nicky has
     a new
Taiwanese
girlfriend!” Eleanor cried.
    “Relax, Lealea. Taiwanese girls are
lovely
—they really know how to take care of a man, and maybe she’ll be prettier than all
     those spoiled, inbred girls you try to matchmake him to.” The
dato’
grinned. “Anyway,” he continued, suddenly lowering his voice, “if I were you, I would
     be less worried about young Nicholas, and more worried about
Sina Land
right now.”
    “Why? What’s happening to Sina Land?” Eleanor asked.
    “Sina Land
toh tuew
. It’s going to collapse,” the
dato’
declared with a satisfied grin.
    “But Sina Land is blue-chip. How can that be? My brother even told me they have all
     these new projects in western China,” Lorena argued.
    “The Chinese government, my source assures me, has pulled out of that huge new development
     in Xinjiang. I just unloaded my shares and I’m shorting a hundred thousand shares
     every hour until market closes.” With that, the
dato’
expelled a big puff of smoke from his Cohiba and pressed a button next to the bed.
     The vast wall of glass facing the sparkling swimming pool began to tilt forty-five
     degrees like an enormous cantilevered garage door, and the
dato’
lumbered out into the garden toward the main house.
    For a few seconds, the room went absolutely still. You could almost hear the wheels
     in each woman’s head whirling into overdrive. Daisy suddenly jumped up from her chair,
     spilling the tray of noodles onto the floor. “Quick, quick! Where’s my handbag? I
     need to call my broker!”
    Eleanor and Lorena both scrambled for their cell phones as well. Nadine had her stockbroker
     on speed dial and was already screaming into her phone, “Dump all of it! SINA LAND.
     Yes. Dump it all! I just heard from the horse’s mouth that it’s
gone case
!”
    Lorena was on the other end of the bed, cupping her phone close to her mouth. “Desmond,
     I don’t care, please just start shorting it now.”
    Daisy began to hyperventilate. “
Sum toong, ah!
§ I’m losing millions by the second! Where is my bloody broker? Don’t tell me that
     moron is still at lunch!”
    Carol calmly reached