Rich People Problems-Kwan 2017 (WWT)

“I really don’t see what’s so disgraceful about this, Mum. Charlie and I are in love.
We’ve both acted entirely honorably throughout a very difficult time. It’s just unfortunate
that Isabel had another breakdown, that’s all.”
“That breakdown! Those obscene things she said about you in front of the whole world
—I have never felt so humiliated in all my life! And those poor ladies! How can I ever look
the Sultan of Perawak in the face again? We almost killed his poor mother.”
“Auntie Zarah is just fine, Mum. You saw it yourself—her hijab was so encrusted with
diamonds, hardly anything got through. She was more in shock because the laksa wasn’t
halal.”
“That Charlie Wu—this is all his fault that our names are being dragged through the
mud!” Felicity continued to rage.
Astrid sighed in frustration. “I know you’ve never liked Charlie or his family—that’s
why you broke us up in the first place all those years ago. But things have changed now,
Mum. No one cares about their lineage and all that nonsense anymore. The Wus are no
longer considered nouveau riche. They are an establishment family now.”
“Establishment my foot! Wu Hao Lian’s father used to sell soy sauce on a bicycle!”
“That may be how they started out, but they’ve come a long way since Charlie’s
grandfather’s time. Charlie has created one of the most admired companies in the world.
Look at your new phone—the screen, the casing, I’m sure at least half the components are
manufactured by Wu Microsystems!”
“I detest this phone! I never know how to use this stupid thing! I swipe and swipe and
instead of making a phone call, some silly video of an Indian granny singing ‘Twinkle,
Twinkle Little Star’ keeps appearing on my screen. I have to ask Lakshmi or Padme to
make every damn call for me!” Felicity was seething.
“Well, I’m sorry you still don’t know how to use your smartphone. But that has nothing
to do with how the Wus are perceived these days. Look how much money Mrs. Wu gives
to that church on Barker Road—”
“Those Wus are frightfully common, and they prove it all the more by giving an obscene
amount of money to that church. They think their dirty money can buy their way into
heaven!”
Astrid just shook her head. “Stop being unreasonable, Mum—”
“Your mother is not being unreasonable,” Astrid’s father cut in, speaking up for the first
time that morning. “Look at what’s happened. Until today our family was able to enjoy
the privileges of total privacy and anonymity. The Leong name has never appeared in the
gossip columns, much less something as silly as this…this…I don’t even know what to call
this idiotic Internet thing.”
“And you’re blaming Charlie for this?” Astrid shook her head, not seeing her father’s
logic.
“No. I am blaming you. Your actions, however unconsciously, have led to this. If you
had never gotten entangled with these people, our lives would not now be under the
spotlight.”