I turned my head in surprise and looked at George: "Do you understand Chinese?"

George nodded sleepily and said, "I know some simple words, I heard you say marriage, accompany me, participate, and the day after tomorrow, these words can be understood." ”

Edward laughed on the side, patted George on the shoulder, and said to us Nunu: "He had a date with a Chinese girl before, and he stayed for a long time, and he naturally learned a little. ”

It dawned on me, "I see, love also helps to learn languages." ”

Edward laughed twice, and sighed with emotion, "George's goal in coming to the UAE is to make appointments with 'girl' children from all over the world, and he is also extremely studious, and now he can understand a little bit of many 'door' languages, and he just had a falling out with an Arab girl two days ago, so he also understands a little bit of Arabic, haha." ”

George gave Edward a nudge and said quietly, "Don't talk nonsense, I'm determined to change my goal now." ”

As soon as these words came out, Edward burst out laughing, looking completely disbelieving.

I was more concerned about what he had just said about accompanying me to the wedding, so I asked George: "The wedding is the night after tomorrow, and there is a camel race during the day, can you be sure that you are free to come to Dubai?"

"Yes. George nodded, "My profession is a photographer, I am more free, I will come to Dubai to find you the day after tomorrow." ”

After thinking about it, since Lian Pian can't accompany me, and I don't want to go by myself, George, who has had a drunken friendship, is a good candidate, and bowed slightly to George, and said with emotion: "Then thank you." ”

Before George could speak, Edward waved his hand, "No thanks, no thanks, in that case, let's go out together in the afternoon, and let's go to the old city to 'smoke' sheesha." ”

"Sheesha?" I hadn't heard that word.

Lian Pian explained to me that sheesha means "hookah". Dubai is non-smoking, but you can't help "shisha", and there is a rather famous "sheesha courtyard" in the old city, which is a leisure place for "door" and "smoking" shisha.

I hugged and kissed Moussa all night last night, and my body and nerves were in a state of great excitement, and I was inevitably a little tired. I wanted to refuse, but seeing that the three of them were in high spirits, and thinking that George would have to come over to accompany me the day after tomorrow, I nodded and agreed.

Perhaps in my heart, there is a faint sense of self-abuse, as if I have to overdraw my mental strength to be able not to think and not be hurt.

This time, we took the "water bus" from the new town to the old town. The "water bus" is a very special small wooden boat, which serves as a means of "transportation" to connect the old and new shores. Many of the boats were tourists who had come to Dubai for recreation, and the laughter spread to the distant sky and then into the air.

Edward was telling jokes with Lian Pian, and with gestures, he looked lively and funny. I tried to immerse myself in the joyful atmosphere, and I was happy at the same time. Every time he told a joke, I leaned back and leaned back with laughter, almost tears, so much emotion was stuffed in my heart, and laughing out loud might soothe myself a little.

Lian Pian looked at me strangely and frowned: "This joke is not funny at all, what are you laughing at?"

I lowered my eyelids slightly, yes, what the hell was I laughing at? I don't even know myself. I want to express all the emotions that have accumulated sadness, and I hope to seek relief through the consumption of my body, but it seems that the brighter I smile, the deeper the sadness falls.

That's how I fell in love with hookah.

The "shisha garden" is covered under the palm trees, reclining on the cushions under the trees, and the smoke from the burning of the tobacco is filtered by the water and enters my throat through a straw. The slender rod, with a glass bottom, takes a deep breath with a hookah, slowly swallowing the clouds and exhaling the fog, quite a bit of the opium smoking situation in the movie.

Shisha is known as the least harmful tobacco, and a long list of tobacco flavors includes strawberry, apple, fennel, grape, and ...... Actually, I don't care what it's like, I just indulge in this feeling of being in a fairyland.

Tobacco is not important, what is important, is a posture to paralyze yourself.

George lay leisurely on the couch next to me, and we chatted as we swallowed the clouds and smoked the fog. I closed my eyes, felt the deep inhalation and exhalation in my throat, and heard George's languid voice drift into: "This is the city of the United Arab Emirates, that's it." It is said that alcohol is forbidden, but there is a bar, and when it is said that smoking is prohibited, there is hookah, and the people here are like this, saying that this is forbidden and that is forbidden, but it is just a way to go beyond the rules. ”

I exhaled a puff of smoke and slowed down the pace of my speech, and asked George, "What do you mean by that?"

He closed his eyes and said, "Didn't Edward say before that my goal was to soak all the 'girl' children in various countries? ”

I nodded, followed his words, and said half-seriously and half-jokingly: "Last night you said that you fell out of love, were you sad for the 'girl' child who just broke up?"

George shook his head: "No, I'm sad for myself." He sighed, "There are more than 80 percent foreigners in the UAE, and I have been here for a long time, often unable to find a sense of belonging, and I have found many people who feel the same loneliness and emptiness as me." When they are empty, they look for physical comfort, one after another. I was sad last night, because I suddenly found myself tired of this kind of game, the 'bed' partner changed one by one, and I was acting with each other, and I felt very tired. ”

I pursed my lips, my mind groggy and groggy: "Does this have anything to do with what we just talked about?"

"It matters. "There are a lot of concubines in the UAE, but the law here prohibits unmarried cohabitation, even for foreigners. But everybody turns a blind eye, and as long as the 'door' is closed, these things still happen. It's the same as the ban on smoking and alcohol here, as long as you hide it, no one cares what you do. ”

The hookah in my hand shook and I suddenly remembered the bits and pieces of last night with Mussa. In fact, after I woke up this morning, I felt extremely guilty in my heart, and I didn't know what to do. I did not refuse Moussa's request to stay last night, although I knew that unmarried cohabitation was against the laws of Dubai, but I directly decided in my heart that the law was unreasonable. Hearing George say this, the guilt in his heart decreased a little.

I was thinking about it, and I heard George say indifferently: "When I first arrived, I thought Dubai was an international and open metropolis, and after staying for a while, I found that there was a deep conservatism hidden under this openness, but after staying for a while, I felt that this conservatism was full of 'holes'." ”

"Where's the hole? I said.

"For example, Muslims are not allowed to drink alcohol, nor are they allowed to have extramarital affairs and premarital 'sex'. But you can often see locals in bars, and extramarital affairs and premarital 'sex' are happening, and I am already aware of several cases. ”

My palms trembled again, and my mind was filled with the shadow of Moses again, and remembering his restraint and forbearance when he was dying, I could not help but whisper: "More Muslims are very religious and would not do such a thing." ”

"Of course, I'm just saying 'occasionally'. George took a puff of hookah and slowly exhaled it again, looking a little melancholy.

Still, we fell into a 'delusion' surrounded by smoke. As the minutes ticked by, the wedding dinner should begin in a little while. It is said that on this night, the bride will dress brightly, wear gold jewelry all over her body, and receive praise and praise from all the 'women' and 'sex'. If Ayub had originally thought, I should have packed up and gone to her sister's 'female' banquet by now, but I evaded and dragged back the clock for another two days, and lay here to paralyze my nerves with a hookah.

After a while, I suddenly remembered that this morning Edward said that George had fallen out with an Arab 'girl' not long ago, and I couldn't help but ask: "Is the Arab 'girl' that Edward mentioned this morning also a Muslim?"

George paused for a moment and replied softly, "Yes." ”

"What about you...... Would you do that?" I was embarrassed to ask, but he must have understood what I meant.

George didn't mind the question, thought for a moment, and said, "We'll do some things too, but we'll have to do something else, because we have to make sure she's a virgin." ”

It's the first time I've heard this statement, and I'm a little incoherent: "This...... In this way, will she still be able to marry in the future?"

"As long as she doesn't get discovered, people here value the concept of chastity, so her bottom line must be innocent. Many local 'girl' children in the UAE have the most fashionable new styles under the black robe. Many of the bags they carry are world-class brands, and they don't blink when they buy them. Everyone has*, their minds seek emancipation, but their bodies do not allow it, so they can only choose a compromise solution. That's why the Arab 'girl' is with me, she can't marry me or any other foreigner, but she still wants to enjoy her body before she gets married. However, this enjoyment must not be known to others. Twenty years ago, if this was discovered, she might have been dealt with within the family, although she wouldn't do it now, but the consequences would still be serious. However, the same situation is more tolerant when it is applied to Muslim male 'sex'. ”

After that, George thought about it for a while, and then added: "So I think it's not so open here, but it's not so conservative either. Of course, I just said that this part of my encounter only represents my own point of view, and does not mean to deny others. ”

I was stunned to learn this story from George. But when I think about it, how could it not be the case with me and Moses, who worked so hard to restrain and indulge in restraint. He is a devout Muslim, but he is also a man, so why must they be mutually exclusive?

What is the definition of chastity? Is it that membrane? Trying to keep the bottom line, but in fact it is far from the word "chastity". How do we define piety and unpiety in faith? Should some people who truly believe in the Lord be classified as ungodly just because they pursue the instinctive pleasures of the body? I don't understand, I really don't understand.

I closed my eyes, took a deep puff of hookah, and looked up at the smoky dream form, as if my heart was adorned with a thousand pounds of boulders. Why do I still think about all this? The smoke and clouds of the past should be gone.