He Chu San’s plaster cast could not be removed for two months. Xia Liu Yi had been extremely busy lately and had little time to keep him company. He Chu San spent his days reading and growing plants at home, perfectly capable of entertaining himself. Seeing how much he enjoyed digging around the courtyard, the bodyguards offered to buy him some expensive flowers and plants, but he raised his plastered leg in refusal. He tied one of Xia Liu Yi’s martial-arts staffs to a shovel, creating a custom gardening tool for wheelchair users, and found a long pair of fire tongs. With the shovel swinging in his left hand and the tongs waving in his right, he frequently dug up nameless wildflowers and weeds from outside the courtyard and transplanted them before the house. When Xia Liu Yi returned one evening, he stepped from the car and discovered another crooked row of foxtail grass in the yard.
“What the hell is that?” Xiao Ma, who was clearing the way ahead, cursed. “Why does he keep planting such shabby things in the Boss’s courtyard? Why didn’t any of you stop him? Dig them all up! Get rid of them!”
“None of your fucking business!” Xia Liu Yi kicked him aside from behind, then gestured to the bodyguards. “Build a fence around them.”
Seeing that the Boss’s protectiveness had reached unparalleled heights, Xiao Ma’s heart filled with bitterness and misery. Wearing a mournful expression, he followed Xia Liu Yi inside. He Chu San was resting on the living-room sofa with a book in his arms and his eyes closed. Hearing Xia Liu Yi enter, he opened his eyes and smiled. “Brother Liu Yi, you’re back. Have you eaten? There’s hot congee.”
“Brother Ma,” he added in greeting when he saw the man behind him.
Xiao Ma glared at him with bitter resentment. He Chu San answered with an innocent, bewildered expression.
“Carry him upstairs,” Xia Liu Yi instructed A’Sen and A’Nan. “Then stand guard outside.”
After clearing away everyone irrelevant, he sat on the sofa and discussed important matters with Xiao Ma. He Chu San craned his head upstairs and strained with all his might, but could only vaguely catch words such as “Chiang Mai” and “Jade Guanyin.”
Xia Liu Yi whispered with Xiao Ma for half an hour before finally sending him away. He went into the kitchen, ladled himself a bowl of fish congee, noticed a jar of pork floss on the cupboard, and casually sprinkled some into it. Then he carried the bowl upstairs, noisily slurping as he ate.
He Chu San sat properly against the headboard, holding his book and appearing completely absorbed in it. When Xia Liu Yi entered while eating, he said, “Brother Liu Yi, there are still some dishes left in the pot.”
With the spoon between his lips, Xia Liu Yi shook his head. He casually placed the half-finished bowl on the bedside table, dropped the spoon inside, and took a bottle of beer from the small refrigerator below.
He Chu San could not understand how Xia Liu Yi had developed the habit of skipping proper dinners, shoveling down a few mouthfuls of congee, and immediately starting on beer. After living there for more than a month, he had gained a far deeper understanding of how Xia Liu Yi managed to make the private life of a powerful gang boss resemble a pile of shit. His sleeping hours were completely reversed, his eating habits were chaotic, and whenever he was either happy or unhappy, he smoked, drank, and chewed snacks until the middle of the night. It was already December, yet he still slept in a vest. He kicked his covers everywhere while turning in bed, and whenever He Chu San kindly pulled them back over him, Xia Liu Yi’s extreme vigilance led him to commit half-conscious domestic violence. No wonder Cui Dong Dong always wore the relieved expression of someone whose suffering had finally ended whenever she visited and patted He Chu San on the shoulder. “Sammy Boy, keep it up. Now that you’ve moved in, don’t ever leave. Saving the Boss depends entirely on you.”
Carrying the ultimate mission of saving the Boss, He Chu San laboriously dragged his plastered leg closer, snatched the beer bottle from Boss Xia’s hand, and returned it to the refrigerator. Before Xia Liu Yi could erupt, he soothed him. “Brother Liu Yi, my leg is injured, so I can’t drink alcohol.”
“What the fuck does your inability to drink have to do with—” Xia Liu Yi found this completely inexplicable, but before he could finish cursing, He Chu San turned his head and planted a loud kiss on him.
Mwah!
“Alcohol can be transmitted while kissing,” the learned scholar explained righteously after taking advantage of him.
“Bullshit!”
He Chu San patiently persuaded the Boss to give up the beer and eat the cookies he had baked that afternoon instead. Although their shapes were strange and their colors suspicious, they were at least fragrant and crisp once inside the mouth.
Chewing cookies while gulping the milk He Chu San had taken from the refrigerator, Xia Liu Yi asked indistinctly, “Your cast comes off tomorrow?”
“Mm.”
Xia Liu Yi’s bulging cheeks paused. “I’m leaving tomorrow morning and will be back before Christmas. Dong Dong will accompany you to the hospital.”
“Where are you going?”
Xia Liu Yi looked up at him, his expression calm. “Don’t ask so many questions. Also, stop trying to extract information from A’Nan. He’s stupid and spends every night worrying that he’ll accidentally reveal something.”
He Chu San blinked. No wonder A’Nan had been avoiding him lately.
“Brother Liu Yi,” he said, deciding not to hide anything and honestly confessing, “I want to join your company, and I also want to persuade you not to go to Thailand. Did Master Qiao agree to cooperate with you because of the heroin business? Are you going to Thailand to meet the people over there?”
Xia Liu Yi could no longer eat. He forcibly swallowed what was in his mouth and finally lowered his voice. “You’re interfering too much.”
He Chu San lowered his eyes and looked at the half-eaten cookie in Xia Liu Yi’s hand. “Have you ever considered going legitimate? With Xiao Qi Hall’s current assets, you could operate proper businesses successfully. There’s no need to continue doing this kind of work…”
“Shut up!” Xia Liu Yi interrupted with a frown, suppressing his anger. “I let you move in here, not order me around.”
He Chu San paused but still tried to finish. “There are actually other ways—”
Xia Liu Yi slammed the cookie onto the bedside table. Crumbs scattered across the floor.
He Chu San tactfully closed his mouth and lowered his eyes to stare silently at the ground.
Xia Liu Yi violently rubbed the cookie crumbs from his fingers. Irritated, he reached toward the milk on the bedside table, changed direction halfway, opened the refrigerator, and took out another bottle of beer.
“Brother Liu Yi,” He Chu San unexpectedly spoke again, “I’m not some cat or dog you keep. I don’t want to be only your secret lover, and I don’t want to remain uninvolved while constantly worrying about your safety. I know Xiao Qi Hall’s background and current situation are complicated, and stopping those businesses would be difficult, but—”
“I told you to shut up!” Xia Liu Yi slammed the beer bottle onto the bedside table.
The bottle remained standing upright and produced only a dull thud, but a crack snaked across the glass. Beer steadily seeped through it, soaking the cabinet and carpet.
He Chu San closed his mouth again.
“I knew you’d been sneaking around lately because you were plotting something!” Xia Liu Yi roared. “Stop fucking playing Jesus in front of me! Stop trying to reform me! I’m a gangster rotten to the bone! If you can’t stand the sight of me, get the fuck out!”
The room fell silent for a long while. The only sound was the beer dripping onto the carpet. Eventually, He Chu San parted his lips slightly.
Xia Liu Yi assumed he still intended to say something suicidal and instantly clenched his fist. Instead, He Chu San merely said quietly, “I want to take a bath. Is that all right?”
With a dark face, Xia Liu Yi opened the door and summoned the bodyguards to clean the room and carry He Chu San to the bathroom. A’Sen, who was responsible for scrubbing the “Boss’s wife,” was practically trembling with fear. Keeping his eyes rigidly forward as he spread soap across He Chu San’s back, he quietly asked, “Mr. He, did you argue with the Boss?”
“It’s nothing.” He Chu San remained quite calm. He had expected Xia Liu Yi to be displeased, but had not expected him to erupt so violently and refuse to hear even one additional sentence.
Although his first attempt had failed, He Chu San was not particularly discouraged. Xia Liu Yi was clever and calm outside but prickly and explosive toward those closest to him. Who understood that better than He Chu San? Xia Liu Yi had received no proper guidance during childhood and had been adopted by a gang boss as a teenager. He had grown up rolling through a cesspool, surrounded by filth and corruption. Trying to lecture him about right and wrong was like playing music to a cow. He Chu San understood that Xia Liu Yi had lost his temper, driven him away, and told him to mind his own business partly because he truly hated being ordered around, but also because he did not want He Chu San to learn more or be dragged into the water. What He Chu San could not understand was why Xia Liu Yi insisted on following a rotten road all the way into darkness and would not even tolerate the idea of going legitimate being mentioned.
He Chu San was completely absorbed in considering the matter. Seeing him remain silent with his head lowered, A’Sen assumed he was heartbroken over the argument. After struggling for a long time, he awkwardly tried to comfort the Boss’s wife. “You… Ahem, don’t worry. The Boss values his relationships deeply. When you were kidnapped last time, he was genuinely terrified for you. He won’t turn against you over such a minor disagreement. Ahem…”
“Thank you, Brother Sen,” the Boss’s wife replied sincerely. “Actually, I need to trouble you with something. Later, carry me downstairs to the sofa, and make plenty of noise while doing it.”
“Huh? The Boss never said you had to sleep on the sofa.”
“Please do me this favor.”
A’Sen complied. He called A’Nan upstairs, and the two ostentatiously began arranging the sofa and carrying He Chu San downstairs, supposedly because He Chu San had “angered the Boss and felt too ashamed to remain shamelessly in his bed.” Hearing the commotion, Xia Liu Yi emerged with a black expression, raised a hand to stop A’Sen and A’Nan, and smashed a pillow against He Chu San’s head. After knocking him unconscious, he carried him back.
He Chu San curled up timidly on the Boss’s bed and played dead. Xia Liu Yi struck him “awake” with another pillow and snapped irritably, “Best Actor He! Cut!”
Best Actor He obediently opened his eyes. Looking at Xia Liu Yi’s pitch-black expression, he humbly apologized first. “Brother Liu Yi, I’m sorry.”
Xia Liu Yi snorted. “Sorry for what?”
“I shouldn’t have tried to reason with you…”
Smack!
This time, He Chu San was genuinely struck dizzy. Half conscious, he pulled the covers over himself and simply transformed his performance of death into sleep. Xia Liu Yi switched off the light, took the other quilt, and turned his back toward him. In the darkness, he said quietly, “I’ll pretend you never said those things. From now on, don’t use any method to investigate my company. Stay here and recover obediently. Don’t listen to what you shouldn’t hear, and don’t ask what you shouldn’t know!”
He Chu San murmured agreement through his haze, but remembered Father He’s teaching—Gangsters are uneducated. Are you uneducated too? He should save the nation by taking a winding path and find another approach. Comforting himself with that thought, he closed his eyes.
Silently, he slipped one hand from beneath his own quilt and slowly explored beneath Xia Liu Yi’s. His fingertips rested against Xia Liu Yi’s warm back, and he fell asleep peacefully that way.
…
When He Chu San awoke the next morning, the bedding beside him was already cold. Xia Liu Yi had taken an early flight to Thailand without leaving him a single word.
However, when He Chu San sleepily stood before the mirror preparing to brush his teeth, he discovered a suspicious trace of white at the corner of his lips. He licked it with the tip of his tongue and sighed.
Brother Liu Yi had skipped breakfast again and left after drinking only a glass of cold milk.
At noon, Cui Dong Dong drove over to take He Chu San to the hospital. He Chu San said he could go alone and did not need to waste Sister Dong Dong’s time. Cui Dong Dong replied that it was no trouble at all. The Boss had specifically instructed her before leaving, and if anything went wrong, her year-end red envelope would be deducted, so Sammy Boy should take pity on her. At the hospital, the cast and metal plate were removed. The doctor said He Chu San had recovered well but would still need crutches for at least another month or two. His wheelchair was therefore retired, and He Chu San transformed into Iron-Crutch San, limping behind Cui Dong Dong as they left the hospital.
“Are we going straight back?” Cui Dong Dong asked. “Would you like to go out and get some air?”
He Chu San had been trapped inside for two months and gladly accepted. “Then I’ll trouble you for a little longer, Sister Dong Dong.”
Cui Dong Dong drove him to Repulse Bay for afternoon tea at a terrace restaurant. The antique British decor and slowly turning nostalgic ceiling fans above them gave the place an air of another era. Even the servers walked with restrained grace and courteous elegance. Meanwhile, He Chu San watched Cui Dong Dong tear off her tie, roll up her sleeves, and demolish a three-tier dessert stand like a violent storm in the blink of an eye. He could only hold his iced coffee and stare blankly at her.
After eating the final salmon roll, Cui Dong Dong called the server over and reopened the menu. “What are you looking at? Say whatever you want to say.”
“Sister Dong Dong, what’s your secret to maintaining your figure?”
“What do you know?” Cui Dong Dong sighed. “Xiao Luo recently insisted that I’ve developed a little belly. She keeps making some kind of ‘nutritious meal’ at home. Fuck, I’ve been drinking congee and eating vegetables every day. I’m starving to death!”
He Chu San glanced at her perfectly flat abdomen, which remained unchanged after three plates of desserts, and considered his words carefully. “Could it be that one day you became too close to a pretty woman outside, or returned home too late…”
Cui Dong Dong thought for a long while. Then her eyes widened as though struck by five thunderbolts, and sudden enlightenment dawned. “Fuck! No wonder I had diarrhea for three days!”
“…”
Inwardly, He Chu San worshipped the brave young woman who dared torment Deputy Hall Master Cui while he watched Cui Dong Dong eat another two expensive cakes whose names he did not recognize.
At last, Cui Dong Dong was full. She wiped her mouth with a napkin, raised a dessert spoon to inspect and arrange her hair, straightened her collar, and once again became her handsome, elegant self. Tossing the napkin aside, she lit a cigar, leaned comfortably back in her chair with it between her lips, and said seriously, “All right. Ask.”
“Mm?”
“I know there’s something you want to ask me.”
He Chu San lowered his head and carefully cut one corner from his own slice of cake. “Sister Dong Dong, is there no possibility of Xiao Qi Hall going legitimate?”
Cui Dong Dong frowned slightly. “Did you ask the Boss that this morning?”
“Last night.”
“Tsk. No wonder his face was so dark when he left today.” Cui Dong Dong tapped her cigar lightly against the rim of her unfinished glass of red wine, knocking off some ash. “Sammy Boy, your background is clean. You’re different from us, but don’t expect us to become like you. Once you enter the underworld, you lose control of your own fate. We fought through mountains of blades and seas of fire to reach where we are today. How could we possibly turn back?”
She slowly exhaled smoke. “I know what you hate most is that we sell ‘that,’ but demand creates a market. Hong Kong is filthy, and the triads cannot bear all the blame. Some people simply want to fall. We merely kindly provide them with assistance. Xiao Qi Hall came from Kau Lung Walled City. Without this traditional business, we would be nothing in the underworld! There’s no need to look far. Take the current situation: without these goods, would Master Qiao have agreed to cooperate with us? There are hundreds of brothers beneath us waiting to be fed, every mouth hanging open and howling. If you forbid the Boss from selling this, what else is he supposed to sell—durians? He’s already riding a tiger and cannot dismount.”
Listening to this collection of absurd arguments, He Chu San felt deeply impressed. Deputy Hall Master Cui truly deserved to be the Boss’s personal scheming adviser. When it came to presenting crooked logic and sinister theories, she spoke with perfect coherence and had reached a far higher level than the Boss, who knew only how to overturn tables and explode with rage. He Chu San looked toward the sea outside, partially obscured by layers of palm trees. A sudden idea cut across the peaceful surface of his mind like a surfboard. Riding a tiger and unable to dismount? What if he cut off the tiger’s legs and pulled out its teeth? What would Xia Liu Yi have left to ride?
He Chu San and Deputy Hall Master Cui enjoyed a pleasant and delightful seaside afternoon tea together. When they finished, Cui Dong Dong offered to drive him back to the village house, but he asked to return to Father He’s home instead.
“I haven’t been home for two months. Dad must miss me,” he said.
Father He did not merely miss his son. When he opened the door and discovered that the son who sent safe-and-well messages to his pager every day was actually standing there on crutches—and one touch made it obvious that the leg had been broken, despite He Chu San daring to claim he had fallen only yesterday—Father He seized a feather duster and began whipping him wildly.
Having excelled in both conduct and studies since childhood, He Chu San received a beating from Father He for the first time in his life. He was struck until he looked utterly miserable. He dared neither dodge nor run, merely hunching his shoulders against the door while clutching his crutches and enduring the pain. Father He could not stand seeing his son put on such a performance and whipped him across the backside. He Chu San finally screamed.
“Dad, I was wrong!” Tears filled Elite He’s eyes from the pain. As expected of his biological father—he hit much harder than Brother Liu Yi.
“What did you do wrong?!” Father He, who had lived honestly and cautiously all his life and always cherished his son, roared for the first time.
“Dad, why do you sound exactly like Liu—like someone else…” He Chu San muttered.
“What?!”
“I was wrong, Dad. A car hit me and fractured my leg. I’ve been staying in the hospital. I was afraid you would worry, so I didn’t tell you the truth.”
“Afraid I would worry! Afraid I would worry!” Father He continued beating him while cursing. “So you decided to act tough by yourself?! You stayed in the hospital alone?! Without anyone to care for you?! Does your Dad not have time? Does your Dad not have the strength?! It was only a broken leg! Even if you had become paralyzed from the waist down, your Dad could still carry you home!”
“Dad, Dad,” He Chu San called aggrievedly. He truly could not endure the beating any longer—his leg hurt from standing for so long. “I was wrong, I was wrong. Someone was taking care of me. Since I already had someone, I didn’t want you to exhaust yourself. Besides, look, I’m perfectly fine.”
Father He’s eyes shifted. He lightly struck He Chu San’s forehead one final time with the feather duster. “Tell me! Who took care of you?”
“Ahem… My… my girlfriend…”
“Bullshit!” Father He sprayed saliva across his face. “Xiao He broke up with you ages ago! She’s been getting close to A’Wai from Uncle Hua’s shop for the past two months! Auntie Hua has complained to me about it three times! The green hat on your head is about to make your scalp break out in sores!”
“Ahem… A new… new girlfriend…”
“You fickle bastard!” Father He threw down the feather duster and switched to slapping him with his palm. “Did your Dad teach you to be so frivolous?! Did your Dad teach you to abandon someone after playing with her?! Disgraceful! You’ve brought shame upon this family!”
He Chu San was beaten until his head spun. Even by dinnertime, he had not recovered. Holding his rice bowl, he listlessly shoveled down one mouthful after another with a blank expression.
“A’San,” Father He called. “Eat more.”
“I ate something this afternoon,” He Chu San said dazedly.
“That girlfriend of yours…” Father He said while sipping his drink. “When are you bringing her home for me to meet? You won’t break up with this one too, will you?”
“Nothing is settled yet, Dad,” He Chu San gave his usual reply.
“You’ve found a wife and forgotten your Dad! You bastard!”
Father He continued muttering and lecturing him. Under tremendous pressure, He Chu San was forced to repent and reform—he promised to remain obediently at home until his injuries healed and never again go out fooling around with his “girlfriend.”
However, after dinner, he received a phone call. The moment he saw the number, he hopped into the toilet like a rabbit despite his bad leg. No matter how Father He looked at it, his son’s sneaky behavior seemed utterly shameless.
He Chu San covered the mobile phone and closed the toilet door before lowering his voice. “Brother Liu Yi?”
It was extremely noisy on Xia Liu Yi’s side, as though he were attending some wild celebration. The voices and singing in the background were all in a foreign language, and He Chu San could not hear what Xia Liu Yi was saying.
He could only shout, “Have you arrived in Thailand? Have you eaten dinner?”
“He Chu San, the walls in your house are thin! You’re disturbing your Dad!”
“Dad, go outside for a walk. Please go.” He Chu San poked his head out and pleaded sincerely.
Father He glared at him. Under his son’s desperate, imploring gaze, he reluctantly slammed the door and left.
“Brother Liu Yi?” He Chu San called again once he felt safe.
Xia Liu Yi had waited silently on the other end. Only then did he speak. “A’San.”
He Chu San noticed something strange in his tone. “Are you drunk?”
“Has your cast been removed? What did the doctor say?” Xia Liu Yi interrupted.
He Chu San honestly reported everything, but after waiting a long time, heard no answer. “Brother Liu Yi?”
The person on the other end murmured vaguely in his sleep, then abruptly startled awake. “What happened?! Who is this?!”
“It’s me, Brother Liu Yi.”
“Little bastard… Has your cast been removed? What did the doctor say?”
“…”
Having wasted his breath, He Chu San did not know whether to laugh or cry. “You’re drunk. Don’t stay there. Go back to your hotel and sleep.”
“Stop interfering with me, little bastard!” Xia Liu Yi cursed energetically, then gradually began drifting off again. “Wait until your Brother Liu Yi… comes back to deal with you… Stay away from me… Don’t come over…”
He Chu San found this completely inexplicable and was about to say more when Xia Liu Yi suddenly began speaking Thai. Rustling came from the other end, followed by a heavy crash and a burst of crackling static.
A pair of soft breasts rubbing against him sobered Xia Liu Yi halfway. He stared dumbfounded at the mobile phone on the floor, crushed beneath a high heel. After freezing for a moment, he cursed in Thai, “Xiao Yu! You bastard!”
Elio’s Notes: Xiao Yu (小玉) is a familiar nickname for Jade Guanyin (玉观音), formed from the character Yu (玉, “jade”) in her name.
“Who were you calling? What were you saying?” The ladyboy straddling him asked lazily, rubbing a half-erect member against him again and again. “You must drink three more glasses before you’re allowed to use the telephone.”
“Use what telephone?” Xia Liu Yi cursed. “You stepped on it and broke it!”
“I’ll simply compensate you with another one.” The flamboyantly made-up ladyboy pressed crimson nails against his lips. “Your mouth is truly hateful. Everyone adores me. You’re the only person who enjoys cursing at me.”
“Everyone is afraid of you!” Xia Liu Yi shoved her off. “Stop rubbing your fake breasts against me!”
“My breasts are real!” Jade Guanyin tumbled onto the sofa. Her proudly cherished E-cups had been questioned, so she began rolling around and throwing a tantrum. “You’re horrible! If you keep treating me this way, I won’t take you to see Godfather!”
“You don’t have to take me. I’ll simply go home. Once you delay Godfather’s business, let’s see how he deals with you.” Xia Liu Yi and she acknowledged the same godfather. Why the fuck would he fear her?
Her threat failed, and her desires remained unsatisfied. Jade Guanyin twisted and rolled across the sofa, behaving as wantonly as a cat. Despite having more than a dozen bodyguards and leaders of various ranks beneath her, not one dared approach and placate her. Eventually, Xia Liu Yi lost patience, personally lifted her around the waist, and carried her away. They cursed and struck at each other all the way to the car outside.
The Bentley drove out of the red-light district, twisting through the roads for almost an hour. At a factory on the outskirts, they transferred into an inconspicuous delivery van. After circling for another half hour, they finally entered an underground club.
“Why did you change locations?” Xia Liu Yi asked Jade Guanyin.
Holding a cigarette between long red nails, Jade Guanyin elegantly exhaled a white smoke ring. “Interpol has begun watching Godfather.”
“Has anything happened?”
“No.” Jade Guanyin leaned against him and stretched, blowing the next smoke ring into his face. “They planted two undercover agents among my people within six months. I skinned both of them.”
“One of them was extremely exciting. He tried to seduce me the moment he arrived,” she said with a low laugh. “In bed, his waist moved like a motor. He made me feel incredible. Afterward, once I skinned him, I used the skin from ‘there’ to make this.”
Raising her little finger delicately, she drew a key chain from her handbag. A soft strip of something dangled from it—a piece of severed penile skin that had been stitched into a narrow shape.
Xia Liu Yi was long accustomed to her perversions. He turned his face away coldly and could not be bothered to look. Jade Guanyin, however, refused to waste an opportunity to tease him. She draped one long leg across his body and breathed warm air against him. “So, when are you going to do it with me? I think yours down here is even better than his.”
She pulled open his belt and thrust a cold hand into Xia Liu Yi’s trousers, narrowing her eyes as she savored every fluctuation in his expression.
Unfortunately, Xia Liu Yi remained unmoved and stared at her indifferently.
Jade Guanyin teased and toyed with him for a while, but as always, he showed no reaction whatsoever. Disappointed, she climbed off him. “What is this? You’re no fun at all! You’re not interested in men, women, or someone who’s both. You couldn’t possibly be impotent, could you?”
Xia Liu Yi scoffed. “What do you think?”
Jade Guanyin scoffed as well. “Whoever manages to make this thing hard deserves a Nobel Prize in Medicine!”
At that very moment, He Chu San, who was leaning sideways inside the toilet, suddenly sneezed.
Completely unaware that he was about to become associated with a world-class award, he continued persistently trying to call the unreachable phone.
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