BROKE MAN ACT BIG SHOT: The “Ji Hong” king with center-parting hair and zero savings.
I seriously need to vent about this one particular “friend” in our group. I think every social circle in Singapore has one, but this guy takes the cake.
He’s the classic “Lao Lan” type—tall, a bit plump, and still rocking that 90s-style center-parting hair behind thick glasses. If you saw him on the street, you’d think he’s just a regular heartlander, but the moment he steps into a bar or a KTV, he undergoes some magical transformation into a “High Roller.”
The moment we sit down, the “Ji Hong” show starts. He’ll look at us with a straight face and say, “Eh, later when the bill comes, we must tip well ah. Don’t throw my face. The staff here all know me, I come here all the time.”
Bro, what face? The only thing people know you for is being the guy who orders one tower of Tiger and nurses it for three hours while trying to act like a boss.
It’s actually painful to watch. He walks into these places acting like he’s the owner’s long-lost brother, waving at the hostess who clearly have no idea who he is. He’ll talk loudly about “big projects” and “big investments,” but the moment the bill actually lands on the table, you see his hands start to shake. He’ll pull out a credit card that you just know is maxed out, or he’ll start doing the “I pay first, you guys PayNow me” trick just so he can use our cash to cover his own share of the bill.
Everyone in the group knows the truth. We know he’s struggling to even top up his CashCard for his second-hand car. We know he has less than $100 in his savings account. Yet, he’d rather drown in credit card interest than admit he’s broke.
He’ll spend money he doesn’t have to impress girls who aren’t interested, at bars where no one recognizes him, all to maintain this “Big Shot” image that literally no one believes.
The center-parting and the “boss” attitude don’t hide the fact that you’re one bad month away from being a bankrupt, bro. If you spent half the energy you use on “saving face” on actually saving money, you wouldn’t be in this mess. Stop acting like a tycoon when you’re actually a “Pok Kai.” It’s not “Ji Hong,” it’s just sad.
Anyone else dealing with these “Face-First, Wallet-Last” characters? How do you even tell them to wake up without them getting offended?