Chapter 1140: Hara.s.sment
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
He He felt that Zhang Zian and the shopkeeper’s process of packing the plaster figurine was too slow, and she did not want to wait anymore. She called Gao Ke and the rest to leave first.
Gao Ke was worried at first about whether her overly showy outfit would cause trouble, but after a while, they gradually relaxed their vigilance and thought it was alright to leave first.
As they were walking along, a local girl skipped up to her, gesturing with her hands, wanting to take a picture with He He.
He He quite liked young girls, and, seeing that this young girl looked honest and cute, she very happily satisfied her request.
After that, some young boys and girls ran over, asking He He to take a photo with them one by one.
He He felt very happy in her heart, feeling like this was a confirmation of her looks, and she did not reject them.
As if there was some kind of unspoken agreement, young men and women also started to gather around and wanted to take pictures with her.
She was really flattered. She had been abroad several times before, but no matter where she went, she was always the one who invited local people to take photos. She had never been so popular. She just felt like a superstar, like she was floating, and thought that the Egyptian sense of aesthetics was great.
Gao Ke and the rest were occasionally asked to take pictures, but it was much less frequent for them than He He. They were not jealous either, and they were even happy for her. After all, she really had outstanding looks.
He He took a picture with a young man and was trying to move on with a smile when the young man suddenly shouted something to her.
She looked towards Jack, asking what that person had just said.
Jack looked troubled. He coughed dryly and said, “He said… He likes you and is asking you if you are willing to be his girlfriend.”
He He and the rest were stunned, thinking they had heard wrongly.
In China, she would occasionally get hit on by men, but normally they just wanted her phone number or WeChat contact. She had never seen someone so direct.
“Tell him, thank you for your kindness, but I’m here to travel and I don’t want to find a boyfriend for the time being,” she said in a way she considered polite. Although the little brother looked quite cute and handsome, she really dared not take an Egyptian boyfriend home. Otherwise, her dad would certainly break her leg.
Jack translated her words over.
He He and Gao Ke and the rest did not take it seriously. They just took it as a joke and teased each other that the Egyptians were really straightforward.
Before they had taken a few steps, another slightly older local man asked to take a picture with her. After the photo was taken, he kept talking to He He sincerely and excitedly and stopped in front of her, not wanting to let her go.
“What is he saying?” He He asked half-jokingly. “Could it be that he wants me to be his girlfriend, too?”
Jack felt even more awkward and hesitatingly said, “He said… You’re his dream girl, and he wants to marry you…”
“…A proposal?”
Even if it were a joke, it was too much, and this man’s expression and tone were not humorous.
Gao Ke had always had good feelings towards He He, and he could not help but feel sour in his heart when he heard that. He complained, “What’s wrong with the local people? Have they not seen women before?”
When he said that, he felt that something was wrong, because Jack was also a local. He instantly smiled and said, “Sorry, Jack, I’m not talking about you…”
Jack shook his head slightly. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “In fact, I can’t be considered a real local. When I was a child, I followed my parents abroad. When I grew up, I returned to Egypt and went to Cairo University. I don’t know some of the customs here…”
He He’s good mood was ruined, and she impatiently waved her hand. “Never mind, let’s leave first. Let’s just ignore these people. I haven’t seen anyone so shameless before. Why doesn’t he take a good look at himself first?”
She wanted to walk around that man, but he kept bothering her without stopping, continuously blocking her path and insisting that he wanted to marry her.
He He was extremely angry. She reached out and shoved him, wanting to push him aside.
At that time, she was using her right hand to take selfies all the way and pushed at him with her left hand, but she didn’t know that most Egyptians thought right was better than left. Right was auspicious. Whether dressing, eating or going out to pray, they started with their right hand and right foot, while their left hand was considered unclean. When solving physiological problems and doing dirty work, they used their left hand to shake hands with others or delivered things with the left hand. It was extremely impolite, even insulting.
Egyptians knew that foreign tourists did not understand this etiquette and had a certain tolerance for foreign tourists. They might have forgiven He He if she had accidentally handed something to him or shook hands with his left hand, but she pushed him with her left hand, which angered the man—and there was a possibility that he was purposely finding trouble with her.
Anyway, the man shouted at the people around him, claiming that He He had deliberately humiliated him with her dirty left hand. He drew the support of others, surrounded He He and her party, and refused to let them go.
Many of them, in the name of solidarity, trying to take petty advantages, had long had an eye on He He’s s.h.i.+ny exposed thighs. Where had they seen this in the local area? Now there was an excuse to acquire this sort of profit in times of trouble.
Gao Ke and the rest, who had at first put on a tough look, wanted to be heroes in front of He He, but they were hard-pressed to fight four fists with two hands, and they were soon overwhelmed by the local people’s imposing manner.
After Zhang Zian heard what Gao Ke was saying, he was also quite speechless.
In this case, the main reason was that He He was wearing revealing clothes and had become the focus of attention of the local people. Otherwise, such troubles would not have found her.
Similar to the situation in China before, many local Egyptian men wanted to emigrate by marrying foreigners and leave Egypt because Egypt was too poor, with a per capita monthly income of about 500 RMB. The domestic political situation was unstable, and there was frequent unrest, political-military rule, and compulsory military service—all men of the right age had to join the military service.
And so, as long as it was an okay-looking young man, they all wanted to find a foreign female tourist to be their springboard to emigration, walking toward the peak of their lives.
However, Egyptian men were not foolish. Foreign women tourists were cla.s.sified by various grades and ranks. First-cla.s.s tourists were women with American pa.s.sports, second-cla.s.s tourists had European pa.s.sports, and third-cla.s.s tourists had Asian pa.s.sports, including China, j.a.pan, and Korea. In addition, women tourists from the United States and Europe were more likely to be hit on successfully than those from Asia, who were slightly more conservative.
However, Egyptian men did not really want to live in a strange foreign country for a long time. Their routine was to trick a female tourist into marrying and obtain a foreign pa.s.sport, then force her to return to Egypt to live with him. Or, after siphoning enough money from abroad, they would then abandon their foreign wives to return to Egypt and marry a local virgin.
Because of the Muslim religion and customs, Egyptian men did not need to go to the government to register for marriage. They could have a wife from abroad and a wife from home, and polygamy was quite acceptable.
Obviously, the man had just seen He He dressed in cool and refres.h.i.+ng clothes and thought she was a very casual and easy-to-get foreign female tourist, so he’d started to have the thought of using her.