❝all that is gold does not glitter,
not all those who wander are lost;
the old that is strong does not wither,
deep roots are not reached by the frost❞
- j.r. tolkien
in which she has problems money could never fix.
[crazy rich asians 2018]
[nov 30...
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──── ❝ chapter viii ❞ ────
❝ it's misogyny ❞
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I USED TO LOVE MAKING dumplings. It was something so simple and meant so much to the family. My first memory of it was from when I was maybe four or five. I couldn't remember if Nick was in his late years of high school or early years of college at the time, just that he was so much older than me.
Despite our "one-sided-maybe-not-so-one-sided-anymore" relationship, Nick used to dote on me as a child. He always wanted to hold me and play games with me, but making food together, dumplings and all, was always his favorite. Even as a child I could tell. He always sat me on one knee while we made dumplings, showing me how to pinch the dough, how to make it nice and tight so the filling wouldn't fall out.
He would joke about the way the filling was a baby and you had to tuck it in so it could get some rest. Nick would make stupid faces and splash water at me. It was moments like those that made making dumplings one of my favorite things.
I didn't want to make these dumplings today, though. A good portion of my family would be there with their judgmental gazes. I'd contemplated just not going to the dumpling-making all together, but I was aware of that fact that Mother would come barreling into my room to come collect me. Or worse: send my brother to do it.
Still, that didn't mean I couldn't be a few minutes late. Yes, it would probably warrant an even larger stare of disapproval, but my attention was focused on the phone that lay on my pillow in front of me.
I was staring at for what felt like hours upon hours. The occasional text from Avaline would pop up, begging for me to text her back. There was one from one of Asher's friends congratulating me, and one from Asher himself, of course. I couldn't bring myself to read that one when I so desperately wanted to hear from the one who really held my heart. And yet... nothing. Nothing despite the dozens of calls and messages I had sent to Joey.
I imagined that word of the quasi-pornographic photo was the talk of the quad back at my boarding school. No doubt Joey heard about my newest scandal through the grapevine instead of getting a proper picture of what happened from me. Having known what practically everyone knows about the Singaporean desire for me and Asher to finally announce our relationship, it wouldn't be so shocking to believe that maybe we had both given into temptation. And of course, it probably didn't help that my fellow students were speculating and probably spreading misinformation in my absence.
