The grilled meat and side dishes were mostly eaten by the two of them, and eventually the local children took them.
The food wasn't very good, so Shekh drank two glasses of freshly squeezed sugarcane juice from the street vendors. After finishing it, he said there was residue in it.
She's no longer the primitive woman who eats chicken without spitting out the bones and swallows fruit peel whole. In the past, she could chew sugarcane peel.
However, Shi Jinzhe did not dare to say these words.
After dark, the two arrived at the city's largest open-air market, which was full of exotic atmosphere and tourists, with various languages spoken all around them.
There were many lighting shops on the winding alley. Sher picked up a bottle of perfume and held it up to the light to admire it.
The shop is filled with colorful stained glass lamps, and the light from the openwork lamps is soft and not too dazzling. Paired with this perfume bottle with small scratches on its surface, it gives you the illusion of stepping into a medieval fantasy world.
Shech picked up another one: "It's very beautiful, I want to buy more."
"You're in charge of the money, so you can buy whatever you want."
"That sounds nice," Shech said, his hand still holding the bottle. "But you still have the actual control."
"I'm just temporarily in charge." Shi Jinzhe accompanied her in picking out items, examining each one carefully.
Most of the things here can be bought in China, but when you travel, you're experiencing the local customs and culture.
Looking at a bottle filled with Red Sea water is a different experience than actually seeing the Red Sea; the cultural atmosphere is also a very important factor.
The thin glass bottle was difficult to handle, so Shi Jinzhe gave the shop owner a generous tip, asking him to pack it in foam and give it to the newly hired local guide.
Walking a little further, Shekh entered a clothing store.
While the clothing is described as such, it's the flamboyant and eye-catching accessories that truly draw attention upon entering.
The clothes have a very commercial feel, with heavy embroidery and sequins and beads. It's hard to tell if they're traditional or not; they have a bit of a Persian feel, but they're quite beautiful.
Shekh didn't really look at the clothes; they looked hot, so she wouldn't wear them. She preferred the brass and turquoise necklace with snakes carved on it.
After she tried them on, the shop owner, who was wearing a headscarf, shook his head in dissatisfaction and turned around to rummage through the shop, finding a stack of gold and blue inlaid armbands and rings for Sher.
Shekh asked in a low voice, "Is she trying to rip me off by taking so much?"
She has no shortage of jewelry and can wear a different one every day without repeating. Giving her so much jewelry is pointless; she's not a display case.
Shi Jinzhe's response was more than she expected: "I can try it, I think it will look great."
Shekh was skeptical, but she let the shopkeeper put the jewelry on her.
The shop owner wasn't finished yet; she went next door and got her a golden headnet with tassels and sequins to wear.
Sequins were stuck to her forehead, her eyes darted around, and out of the corner of her eye, one could catch a glimpse of several tassels hanging down from her temples.
Before Shi Jinzhe could say anything, the shop owner was extremely satisfied.
Shekh raised the arm covered in jewelry. "The boss may have some unknown quirks, just like you."
“We just have good taste; you look really good in it.” Shi Jinzhe made her look in the mirror. “Are you an Egyptian princess who traveled back from three thousand years ago to fall in love with me?”
"Don't curse me, princesses don't always have a good ending."
"You studied it yourself?" Shi Jin paid the money, took a few photos, and asked the shop owner to take off all the jewelry except for the headdress.
“A little bit, not much,” Shekh said. “If I were a princess who traveled from three thousand years ago, I would definitely be here to escape disaster if I were to marry my brothers, uncles, or even my father.
"You can fall in love even when you're fleeing from disaster."
"Fleeing and still in love? That's like wanting to die even faster." Shekh brushed aside the tassel pendant that was in the way of her face. "If you like this so much, you should wear it yourself."
"You don't want to pick them anymore, do you?" Shi Jinzhe said with an air of indifference. "You don't need to force yourself for my sake."
Then Shekh actually took it off, ignoring his feigned pitifulness. However, she still explained, "I don't wear it because I don't want you to see it. It's just that this thing always reminds me of the fishing net foam wrapping on a box of apples. Don't you think it looks a lot like it if you change the gold to white?"
Shi Jinzhe thought of that thing and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "But I think apples and you are quite a good match."
"You're not good enough for me. You're just the apple tree."
"And what about you? The viper played Eve, praising and selling herself while eating." Shi Jinzhe continued on his own, "After eating it, the effects were remarkable, and now she even has a sense of shame."
"Are you trying to say that you are the first human being created by God, and that my shame comes from you?"
Sheh removed the tassel, and Shi Jinzhe thought that what he said sounded dangerous no matter how you looked at it.
"I wouldn't dare. I'd rather be the one who gets hit on the head by an apple."
"If you're so good at patting yourself on the back, is the golden apple of a goddess going to smash you? You'll probably just get dumbfounded."
"It's a bit cruel to make your husband stupid. If he becomes stupid, he won't be able to earn money for you anymore. Let's find someone else."
“Then eat the poisoned apple and become Sleeping Beauty.” Shekh paused, then circled back to the point: “See, I told you the runaway princess wouldn’t end up like that.”
Shi Jinzhe choked up; he could never match that closed-loop thought process.
"...Fine, you won't be a princess, and you won't run away."
"Don't sound so aggrieved." Shekh tried to lean in and hug his arm, but just as their shoulders touched and they held hands, more people turned around to look at them from the side of the road.
"...This place is really unfriendly to me."
Even holding hands drew attention; she and Shi Jinzhe had been separated for three hours by societal norms.
I really want to kiss you.
"...Let's go back to the hotel."
It would have been better if I hadn't mentioned it, because once I did, he started having other ideas.
Shi Jinzhe picked up the bag of jewelry in his hand: "Try them on when you get back and let me see them."
"Tell me the truth, do you really have some unspeakable imperial dream, such as debauchery, tyranny, or wantonness?"
"We're outside."
Shekh turned his head; people of all colors—black, white, and yellow—said, "This is a foreign country; nobody can understand you."
Shi Jinzhe tried to save face by saying, "What if foreigners can also learn Chinese?"
“Then let’s whisper it.” Shekh tilted his head, revealing his ear which was hidden by his hair. “Go ahead and say it.”
"Do you think it's convenient for me to stand close to you when we talk?"
"Tell me, and I'll wear them all when I get back."
Shi Jinzhe uttered an outrageous statement: "That's how you tricked me into falling into depravity."
He looked around, found a narrow path, pulled Shekh in, kissed him twice with his back turned, and before the locals noticed, they casually returned to the main road like tourists who had gone the wrong way.
Shekh licked his lips: "You still haven't told me."
"I have no imperial ambitions; can I just be utterly lewd?"
As Shi Jinzhe finished speaking, two girls who were walking past him and wearing Arab headscarves couldn't help but glance at him.
After walking past them, I took out my phone and sent a voice message: "Let me tell you, I just saw a couple on the streets of Egypt. They were really good-looking, but the guy's way of speaking was a bit disheartening. Tsk, what a pity."
Shekh guiltily tucked a strand of hair behind his ear without turning around, and when he was being ordered around, he said, "Buy me another cup of sugarcane juice, and hurry back."
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