Crazy Rich Asians: Part 3, Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis

Tonight, Harry Leong is throwing a party for Colin, his nephew—and Annabel Lee is secretly more excited about this party than any of the other wedding festivities. This is because when she and her husband moved with little Araminta to Singapore  from China more than 20 years ago, Annabel quickly realized that there were richer, snobbier people than the other Mainland Chinese like herself—and she desperately wanted to see how they lived. At this party, she’ll finally get her wish. At the Leongs’ house, Annabel takes note of the various details and enjoys rubbing shoulders with the likes of Felicity, Astrid, and Eleanor. Annabel is content. She’s certain now she made the right choices for Araminta—Araminta looks like she belongs among these “people of breeding and taste.” Nobody here is trying to network or one-up people, and nobody’s wearing Louis Vuitton.

Astrid, meanwhile, is hiding outside her parents’ house waiting for Michael. She grabs him when he arrives so it looks like they came together. He quietly asks if Cassian is here—and when Astrid says he isn’t, Michael accuses Astrid of tricking him to get him to come to this event. Brushing this off, Astrid insists they have to plan for the wedding on Saturday, but Michael insists he’s not going. He says Astrid can tell people he’s working. When she accuses him of seeing his mistress, he says that he “never wanted to resort to this” but admits that he is, in fact, seeing his mistress. Just then, Astrid’s sister-in-law rushes over and asks Michael to take a look at the malfunctioning oven. He snaps that he’s not a handyman and storms off, and Astrid explains that he’s just upset because he might miss the wedding.

Eddie and his family are in the car that will drop them at the party, and Eddie is quizzing his children on how they’re supposed to behave. Kalliste dutifully says she’s going to play classical music on the piano, though she asks if she can also play Lady Gaga. Eddie threatens to break her fingers if she does and tells Constantine to button his jacket. He scolds the small boy for buttoning his last button, and Fiona pulls her son onto her lap. This annoys Eddie. When asked, Augustine tells Eddie how they’ll walk into the house, and Eddie excitedly says he can’t wait for people to see their “splendid entrance.”

Eleanor follows Nick and Rachel into the Leongs’ house, thrilled when Nick takes Rachel immediately to meet Victoria and Cassandra, Philip’s “snottiest” sisters. The women coolly greet Rachel just as Eddie, Fiona, and their kids enter. Cassandra and Victoria scoff at how the kids are dressed—it’s hot, and they’re “dressed for a shooting weekend” in Scotland in designer clothes. Another couple enters behind Eddie’s family. Nick whispers to Rachel that that’s Alistair and apparently Kitty Pong. Kitty is dressed in a tight striped tube dress and wears false eyelashes and hair extensions—and as the couple approaches, Rachel realizes the white stripes on the dress are sheer, revealing Kitty’s nipples. Alistair proudly introduces Kitty while everyone gapes—and he then announces they’re engaged. Not noticing that nobody seems happy about this, Alistair greets Rachel. Victoria and Cassandra immediately ask Rachel to explain the American economy to them.