Singapore - Children of celebrities have to share their parents with the public.

This is often the case for the Chen family when they go out for dinner.

Says the son of local celebrities Edmund Chen and Xiang Yun, Yi Xi: "It won't be long into the meal before people start coming up to my parents and asking, 'Can we have a photo with you?'"

Younger sister Yi Xin chimes in: "We're experts at taking photos with a camera phone under all sorts of lighting conditions. iPhone, Samsung - all can!"

But Yi Xi and Yi Xin say they don't resent the interruptions and are used to them.

"I'm actually quite happy whenever that happens. It means people recognise my parents and their work," says Yi Xi, 22, who is studying art, media and design at Nanyang Technological University.

"Sometimes they even want to take photos with us," adds Yi Xin, 13, and a student at Bedok South Secondary School.

The two confess that they find certain expectations placed on them to be weighty.

Yi Xin says that some people seem surprised that she goes to a regular school.

"I feel that people expect us to go to good schools," she comments.

For her elder brother, the pressure is of a different sort.

"You know, people see my dad as a handsome hunk. In comparison, I'm kind of sloppy and skinny, and when I was a teenager, I had so many pimples," he says with a laugh.

"But I've reached a kind of nirvana," adds the charmer, who is now more comfortable with his appearance.

The siblings are fine about people finding out who their parents are, but rarely reveal their identities for fear of being "treated differently".

"I'm quite a loner at school. I like to keep a low profile," says Yi Xi.

While children of famous parents can be brats, Yi Xi says he hasn't heard of any such incidents in Singapore.

He adds, though, with mock alarm: "Have others heard about me? I'm curious now."

"I never thought such a thing would work."

Still, there are perks - though nothing on the scale of the offspring of Hollywood stars.

"When I was younger and the security at MediaCorp wasn't so strict, I used to run around on set while they filmed, so I would always know the progression of the drama serials ahead of time.

"My friends would badger me but of course, I wouldn't tell," he says with a laugh.

When asked if they would consider joining showbiz like their parents, Yi Xi says it is not likely, because he is "bad at memorising lines".

Yi Xin, who has taken up dance as a co-curricular activity in school, says she might consider taking it up as a career.

Then comes the most critical question that could have the most immediate impact on their future - which parent are they closer to? The siblings pause. "Our allowance is on the line, you know," says Yi Xi with a smile.

Their parents, he says, try to be friends with them, but are traditional at heart.

"They have regular expectations of parents when it comes to academic results," says Yi Xin. She nods when asked if she is required to achieve straight As.

What about dating? "They don't really talk about the guidelines to us in much detail. It's usually vague," says Yi Xi, who replied "no comment" when asked if he is seeing anyone.

"I think a key requirement is that he has to be filial," says Yi Xin.

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