China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan Page A

“Congratulations and wishing you prosperity,” the proper greeting in Cantonese. Naughtier children prefer to say “Happy New Year—I pull your ear!” or “
Gong hei fat choy
—
ang pow tae lai
!” (Now gimme that
ang pow!
)
    *6 Cantonese for “This irritates me to death!”
    *7 Jun Takahashi, the creative force behind the cult fashion label Undercover. The prototype of Astrid’s dress was quite possibly the inspiration for his autumn–winter 2014 collection.

6
MORTON STREET
    NEW YORK
    FEBRUARY 10 , 2013 18:38 PM PST
    Text messages to Nicholas Young’s private cell phone (the one his parents don’t have the number for)
ASTRID: Yr mum found out about the wedding. Happy New Year.
    NICK: WTF! How did she find out?
    ASTRID: Not sure who leaked. She confronted me @Ah Ma’s. Things got ugly.
    NICK: Really?!?
    ASTRID: Yes. She went nuts and made a scene when I wouldn’t give her any details.
    NICK: So she doesn’t know when, where, etc.?
    ASTRID: No, but I’m sure she’ll find out eventually. Get ready.
    NICK: I’ll double down on security at the venue. Will hire ex-Mossad.
    ASTRID: Make sure they are all from Tel Aviv. With good tans, lots of stubble, and great abs.
    NICK: No, we need really sinister guards. Maybe I should call Putin and see whom he can recommend.
    ASTRID: Miss u. Gotta run. Ling Cheh’s ringing the lunch gong.
    NICK: Please wish Ling Cheh gong hei fat choy, and save me some tsai tao kueh.
    ASTRID: I’ll save you all the crispy bits.
    NICK: My favorite!
    FEBRUARY 10 , 2013 9:47 AM EST
    Message left on Nicholas Young’s voice mail in New York
    Nicky, ah? Are you there? Happy New Year. Are you celebrating in New York? I hope you are going to do something. If you cannot find
yee sang
in Chinatown, at least have a plate of noodles. We have been at Ah Ma’s all day. Everyone was there. All your cousins. Eric Tan’s new Indonesian wife is very pretty and has very white skin. I think she must bleach it. I heard they had a ridiculously lavish wedding like Colin and Araminta’s, but in Jakarta. Her side paid for most of it of course. I’m sure her side will pay for all of Eric’s money-losing films from now on. Nicky, please call me when you get this message. There’s something I need to discuss with you.
    FEBRUARY 11 , 2013 8:02 AM EST
    Message left on Nicholas Young’s voice mail in New York
    Nicky, are you there?
Alamak
, this is getting ridiculous. You cannot keep ignoring me like this. Please call me back. I have something very important to tell you. Something you will want to know, I promise. Please call me as soon as possible.
    FEBRUARY 12 , 2013 11:02 AM EST
    Message left on Nicholas Young’s voice mail in New York
    Nicky, is that you? Nicky? He’s not in…Dad here. Please call your mother. She needs to speak to you urgently. I want you to put aside your feelings and just call her. It’s Chinese New Year. Please be a good son and call home.
    • • •
    It was Rachel who heard the messages first. They had just arrived home from California, and after setting the luggage down, Nick had run out to grab some sandwiches at La Panineria while Rachel unpacked and checked the voice mails on the home line.
    “They were out of mortadella so I got a prosciutto and fontina with fig mustard and a mozzarella, tomato, and pesto panini—I thought we could share both,” Nick announced upon returning to the apartment. Handing the paper sack to Rachel, he sensed that something was off. “You okay?”
    “Um, you need to listen to the voice mails,” Rachel said, handing him the cordless phone. While Nick listened, Rachel went into the kitchen and began unwrapping the sandwiches. She noticed that her fingers were trembling, and she found herself unable to decide whether to leave the sandwiches on the wax paper or put them on plates. For a moment, she became angry with herself. She hadn’t thought that hearing Eleanor Young’s voice again after all this time would have this effect on her. What