004 Do Not Associate with the Man in the White Robe

As twilight gradually drew near, I sat on a soft sofa in a high-rise restaurant. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, Dubai’s dazzling lights sparkled like stars strewn across the earth.

“Since it’s your first day here, I’ll take you to try this Middle Eastern restaurant. It’s very authentic,” Senior Sister Yin Qianyan said, ordering several dishes before handing the menu to Lian Pian and me. Gazing at the unfamiliar Arabic script and many English words I’d never seen before, I randomly picked two dishes that looked appealing based on the pictures.

While waiting for the food, we naturally began to chat. Lian Pian was the most lively. “Senior Sister, I’m telling you, today Xi Xi and I saw a particularly handsome Middle Eastern man—and we saw him twice!”

Yin Qianyan glanced at her. “Was he a local from Dubai?”

A thought suddenly stirred in my mind as I recalled his deep golden-brown eyes. I nodded slightly. “Probably. His friend is from Dubai and is one of my supervisors.”

Upon hearing this, Yin Qianyan turned her gaze to me and raised an eyebrow. “Oh? A supervisor? If you don’t want to get into trouble, then stay away from them.”

Although I hadn’t intended to get too involved with Muslims, I couldn’t help but frown. “Why?”

“Local Dubai residents enjoy excellent welfare and tend to be rather lazy. Few are willing to pursue a master’s degree. The more diligent ones study abroad in Europe or America. Those who stay here at your age usually already have stable government jobs. They just want to get a master’s degree without serious study. If you get too close to them, you’ll have to constantly help them with academic issues, which is troublesome.”

I was somewhat puzzled. “If they already have jobs, how do they find time to study for a master’s?”

Yin Qianyan smiled bitterly. “You’ll find out later. Dubai locals are notoriously inefficient, but policies here are very lenient toward them. Many own several companies under their names, which foreigners manage, yet money keeps flowing into their pockets easily. Their jobs are quite relaxed. That’s why most locals are wealthy yet lazy—their wealth is built on exploiting labor from other countries. They probably have their master’s tuition reimbursed by their workplaces. Unlike us, who have to work as teaching assistants to get full scholarships.”

Hearing this, I felt a vague sense of disappointment, though I couldn’t say why. I awkwardly pursed my lips and asked again, “So, are they just trying to get a degree without effort?”

Yin Qianyan pondered briefly. “Not entirely, but mostly yes. A senior from my cohort, Yan Hua, once dealt with such locals who pestered him daily to do their homework.”

Mentioning Yan Hua, Yin Qianyan’s expression became vivid, almost sharing a righteous indignation. Lian Pian, sensing juicy gossip, smirked and dragged out her words slyly, “You and this senior Yan Hua, could it be…”

Yin Qianyan’s fork suddenly clattered sharply against her plate. She hurriedly clarified, “Don’t say nonsense. I was already married before coming to Dubai. My husband is well acquainted with many of your senior brothers and sisters.”

Her strong reaction silenced Lian Pian, who quickly stopped speaking. Fortunately, at that moment the dishes arrived, and my curiosity about Middle Eastern cuisine overcame everything else, dissipating the slight tension that had built up.

In my limited understanding, Middle Eastern food only meant the glistening, juicy Turkish kebabs turning on a rotisserie, easy to roll up and eat on the go. On the way to school, I had already seen many shops proudly displaying towering cones of meat, looking quite spectacular.

Yet the dishes before me now utterly surpassed my previous notions of Middle Eastern cuisine.