章節 20: Chapter 20: A New Game
Yuzu sat Mei down on the stool in front of the piano, while she got a chair from their bedroom. Several pieces of sheet music lined the top of the piano, they were by no means intricate pieces of music but they were difficult enough that Mei would have a hard time learning them. Most of the pieces were just nursery rhymes or very short, simplistic pieces for beginners.
Mei had claimed that she had taught herself how to read sheet music and didn't need any extra help, but Yuzu wanted to be sure. So, she started the makeshift lesson off extremely easy, getting Mei to read some sheet music that was usually used for young children.
The two were sat side-by-side in front of the piano, Yuzu had asked that Mei simply read the sheet music aloud before trying to play anything. Mei completed this task quite easily, however, when she actually started to play while reading the sheet music she became easily frustrated at her lack of hand-eye coordination.
"Slow down Mei, you have to play it slowly at first. Read the note then play that one note, don't try and do the entire piece at once." Yuzu gave a reassuring smile to her lover and motioned for her to try again.
Like she was told, Mei read the first couple of notes from the paper and looked down to her right hand and very slowly played the notes. A grin broke over Yuzu's face as Mei actually took in the information she was giving her, but when she looked at Mei if fell.
"What's wrong Mei? You played that correctly so why aren't you happy?" Mei turned to Yuzu, irritation on her face.
"I played four notes Yuzu, and it took me like ten seconds. It didn't even sound like it was supposed to, they are crotchets and I definitely gave them more than one beat each." Mei scowled, more to herself than anything else. This Yuzu didn't quite know how to answer, it was true that Mei had given each note more 'showtime' than needed but surely that shouldn't matter. She played it, that was the main point.
"Mei I think you are missing the point a little here, you can't just sit down in front of a piece you have never played before and play it straight away. When learning a new piece everybody plays it slower than it's supposed to be, that's how we learn. By the way, I hope you had a better attitude when you were with your tutor," Yuzu gave a cheeky grin but quickly stopped when she received a glare from Mei.
"Of course," was all she got before Mei turned back to the music to try again. She got halfway through the piece, playing a total of six notes before she started getting the keys mixed up. A mixture of a sigh and a grunt of frustration left Mei's mouth as she pulled her hand back.
"For God's sake why can't I get it right!" Mei huffed and got up to leave but was stopped when Yuzu grabbed her by the wrist.
"Mei stop being so childlike! You wanted to learn how to play and to do that you actually need to put in time and effort. You aren't going to learn these things in one sitting, you need to practice and practice. Storming away like this every time it doesn't go your way won't help anything. So sit down and try again," Yuzu's gaze was hard as she started up into Mei's narrowed eyes, but they soon softened along with Yuzu's as she retook her place in front of the piano.
"Sorry I know your right, I'm just not used to not being able to do things straight away. This is like that dance class all over again; you are great at something and just show me up without trying." Mei laughed a little at her statement, Yuzu didn't.
"I wasn't trying to show you up Mei, just that sort of thing came more naturally to me than you. And the same doesn't apply in this situation because I spent years taking boring ass lessons. That was hard work. Now if you actually want to learn, try this again." Yuzu reached for the piano with one of her hands and glanced quickly at the sheet music, taking in the notation all at once.
She looked over to Mei, "I'm only going to give you an example once so watch closely, it's your turn next." With that said Yuzu focused back on the keys and flawlessly played the three bars of music. Mei sat in awe as she watched Yuzu effortlessly play the piece she had struggled to, she still wanted to know the extent of her girlfriend's talent. Not just to hear it from Yuzu's mouth but hear her play something, something that wasn't an extreme beginners piece.
"Okay, so now you know what's it supposed to sound like, have a shot and remember to go slow," pulling her hand back from the keys Yuzu waited for Mei to start. Two minutes later Mei had completed the three bars as well -with a few mistakes- and had a smile on her face.
"Amazing! You're just as good as me," a smile of pride was spread over Yuzu's face as she slung an arm around Mei shoulders and rocked her side to side in excitement.
"I appreciate your modesty Yuzu but you know that isn't true. Thank you for your advice it was helpful."
"That's what I'm here for," Yuzu gave Mei another bright smile as she chose to ignore the former part of Mei's comment. Yuzu looked back to the sheet music then at Mei, it had taken her almost ten seconds to read and play each note.
"If you wanted to we could write the notes under the bar so its easier for you. It will make it easier to play if you aren't having to count bar lines for everything, then once you have got that down you can try reading notation again?" Yuzu asked as she took the music from the piano.
Mei quickly nodded her head, she wouldn't admit it to Yuzu but she was finding it rather hard to read the basic sheet music and play at the same time. Even when she wasn't paying Mei still had to use the rhymes her tutor had taught her to figure out what the notes where.
Yuzu stood up to leave the room and came back several seconds later with a pencil. "I'll write it in pencil so once you have gotten used to playing a little more we can come back to this and rub out the letters." While speaking Yuzu closed the lid of the piano making sure that Mei's hands were nowhere in the vicinity, and pulled the several sheets down in front of herself, using the lid as a table.
Mei once again watched in amazement as Yuzu nonchalantly concurred what she could not. It took her less than a minute to read and write all the letters on the sheets. Mei wondered if she had actually read the music or if she was just making it up, the speed Yuzu was reading seemed unfathomable to Mei.
"Okay! Now you should have a better time, how about we try this one again?" Yuzu placed the piece of paper Mei had previously been trying to play back on the edge of the piano and opened the lid again.
Just like Yuzu had said Mei had found it much easier to play now that she wasn't having to focus on reading the sheet music.
Time passed quickly with the two at the piano, Mei played while Yuzu gave the occasional bit of advice. But unfortunately for Mei Yuzu had stuck to her word and hadn't played a full piece since her first example. She had played several notes if Mei continued to get it wrong but nothing that exceeded five seconds.
They had been here for almost an hour and Yuzu could see that Mei was starting to lose focus. An hour was a relatively long lesson for a beginner and Yuzu was happy to stop, she had seen an improvement in Mei's playing, even if it was only slightly.
"Mei I can see you are getting tired, how about you take a break and you can practice again tomorrow?" Yuzu smiled to Mei as she started packing away the materials they had been using. Mei gave a small nod and waited until Yuzu had packed up all her music before speaking.
"Yuzu I don't mean to push it and I don't want you to get mad at me for asking... but are you going to play again? I know you said a little bit of playing doesn't help or compare to what you have been putting yourself through over the years, but you really seemed happy when we played together. It seems like a waste for you to stop and I would love to hear you play something that isn't a child's song... I think you need to stop holding onto whatever negative feeling you have towards the piano. It's evident from how happy you were today that you still like the instrument and just as you said to me earlier you won't get anywhere without work. You need to work through whatever is holding you back so you can enjoy the Piano like you used to... like you want to." Mei was giving Yuzu a caring smile as she spoke. Through her entire speech, Mei looked into Yuzu's watering eyes. The green orbs seemed to become less guarded the more Mei spoke, it wasn't long before Yuzu was wiping her eyes to stop her unwanted tears from spilling over.
Getting up from her chair Yuzu joined Mei on the now slightly too small stool and embraced her tightly. Yuzu didn't want to cry, but what Mei had said had made so many emotions rupture within her, making it almost impossible to hold back the waterworks. Almost. After several seconds Yuzu moved away from Mei and looked back into her warm amethyst eyes.
"I know that you still don't understand everything about why I won't play and I'm sorry that I don't either. I think I'm scared, scared to play unless you are with me. The fear that I'll still hurt if I play alone, or that I won't live up to what I was taught, it feels horrible. And I know you want to hear how well I can play, I think that's why you asked me to play with you today; you thought I would be taken over with inspiration and blast out an entire song or something. I don't not want to play but I don't know what will happen if I do. I'm sorry to make you wait but I really am grateful for your patience Mei, truly." Yuzu gave Mei a weak smile at the end and hoped Mei could hear the sincerity in her words.
Leaning in, Mei placed a gentle kiss to Yuzu's soft lips before resting her forehead against the blondes. "I understand that you are scared Yuzu but that's why I'm here. I'm not going to force you to play anything but you should think about it, is this really something you shouldn't do? If it makes you upset when you play I'll help as best I can to comfort you, but what if you play and you find that it fills you with joy like it used to. If you don't try you will never know," Mei gave another kiss to Yuzu's quivering lips, she hoped she wasn't being too pushy with Yuzu but she wanted Yuzu to be happy.
Yuzu placed her hand up behind Mei's neck and slowly turned the innocent peck into a passionate kiss, deepening it with every movement. She loved Mei to the end of the world and back, people outside of herself rarely saw it but Mei was a kind, gentle and loving person. But what Yuzu truly loved, was the concern she showed toward her. Yuzu knew Mei wasn't trying to pry, she just wanted Yuzu to work through this so she could be happy.
Breaking the kiss after several minutes, Yuzu returned her forehead to Mei's.
"Thank you," Yuzu whispered the words so Mei could only just hear them. Mei smiled again, thankful that Yuzu had understood what her goal was by bringing up the topic.
"How about we move this to the couch? My back is getting a little sore from sitting upright this whole time," Mei asked as she pulled away from Yuzu and stood from her seat, stretching as she did. Yuzu gave a hearty laugh and rose to join Mei, making her way over to the sofa.
Once the two were sitting on the couch a message came up on the television, signalling that Yuzu's game had been downloaded and was ready to play. Seeming to forget her tears moments ago, Yuzu jumped up and grabbed the controller from the dining table where she had left it this morning.
"Do you mind if I play a little? I had to wait for both games to download before I could play them so I haven't had a chance yet. You can watch or read or study or something in here so we are still together just like you wanted," Yuzu gave a hopeful smile as she stood in front of a sitting Mei who was still smiling, amazed at how fast her girlfriend had forgotten about her problem.
"Sure go ahead, I'll grab my book give me two seconds." Mei nodded to Yuzu who after giving Mei a grateful kiss, spun around to face the tv and rapidly pressed the startup button for her game. The two games she had bought were both anime adventure type games, you know you have your protagonist that you follow and play as throughout the game. Yuzu didn't have much experience in video games, so much like her choice of console, she picked her games based on their cover art and the five line description on the back of the box.
When Mei came back in Yuzu was sat crossed-legged on the floor, leaning against the couch; This was a weird habit of Yuzu's that Mei thought she would never understand. She perfered sitting on the carpet and leaning against the furniture rather than just sitting on the seats themselves. Over the years Mei had decided to stop trying to figure it out, she had tried sitting on the floor herself but it was hard and uncomfortable.
She walked over and sat to the side of Yuzu on the sofa, her leg slightly brushing against Yuzu's shoulder. Much like Yuzu, Mei brought her legs up and sat with her legs folded and started to read her book. Yuzu looked up to see Mei was already reading, Guess I'll be the one moving then. Yuzu shuffled the foot on the carpet so she was directly in front of Mei, her hair brushing the front of Mei's legs.
This was, as you would put it Yuzu's preferred position. It was easier to talk to each other according to Yuzu, she could just simply tilt her head back and she would be able to see Mei. She also claimed that leaning against Mei's legs was more comfortable than leaning against the couch, even if it was just her head. Mei didn't understand Yuzu's way of thinking here, but she didn't mind the contact and she had expected Yuzu to move between her legs.
Yuzu put the earphone in her ear, assuming Mei wouldn't want to listen to the audio of her game and started watching the intro cut scene. She played through the starters guide that explained the basic controls of the game; how to dodge, swing your sword, jump and so on and so forth. Yuzu had found the game very engrossing, there was an amicable amount of cut scenes and even the playing aspect she enjoyed more than she thought she would. She and her party -side characters- were currently making their way through a dungeon to find a key, Yuzu was focused intently on it.
It had been over an hour since she started playing or actually looked away from her game, the only reason she managed to draw her eyes away was that Mei was shouting her name. "Yuzu stop ignoring me!" Mei was currently standing to the side of Yuzu, her hands on her hips and her eyes were shooting daggers at the blonde. Yuzu slowly dragged her eyes from the screen to look up at an exasperated Mei, making sure to pause the game first.
"Mei why are you shouting and what are you talking about ignoring you? You haven't even spoken," Yuzu looked to Mei and met her scowling amethyst eyes. An audible gulp could be heard from Yuzu as she waited to hear what she had done wrong for Mei to be looking at her like this.
"I have been trying to get your attention for over two minutes, you were ignoring me for your game," Mei pointed to Yuzu's controller then to her earpiece, Yuzu followed Mei's finger with her eyes and when it finally clicked she pulled the earphone from her ear and placed the controller on the floor, but she kept still on the ground. An 'oh shit I'm in trouble' look on her face.
"Sorry Mei I didn't hear you, I guess I was too focused on my game. What did you need?" Yuzu gave an unsure smile hoping Mei would stop glowering at her. She did not.
"I wanted to know if you fancied something to eat, you have been up for hours and I assumed you skipped breakfast to set up your game. I mean it's long past lunch time but I heard your stomach grumble and thought you would want something for lunch. But in the end, you overlooked me for your game... If this is the start of some bad habit that is going to end in you not looking after yourself I will pack it up and throw it away right now." Mei was standing strong with her argument and to Yuzu it was completely understandable. Mei didn't want a console in the first place, Yuzu was just giving her more of a reason not to have one in the house.
"No I promise it's not Mei I just got distracted, I don't even feel that hungry, honest. -Another grumble emanated from Yuzu's tummy- Hehe... On second thought maybe a sandwich and tea?" Yuzu looked around the room trying to find something to focus on that wasn't the cold aura coming from her girlfriend.
Relief washed over Yuzu when Mei finally moved her gaze and started walking away, a sigh left her mouth which she quickly tried to cover up as Mei was still within earshot. Picking up her phone Yuzu saw that it was already after two in the afternoon, the time had flown by so fast she hadn't even realised.
She had received several texts since she last checked her phone, a few of them were from her pink haired friend asking what she thought of her new game. Replying to the messages on her phone, Yuzu was once again distracted when Mei came back with something for her to eat. Mei stood there for several seconds waiting to see if Yuzu would acknowledge her presence but like before, she was preoccupied with her electronics. Yuzu was typing rapidly with a huge smile on her face, the complete opposite of Mei.
Clearing the little space between them, Mei loudly placed the plate and mug down on the table in front of Yuzu. The sudden clatter made Yuzu jump and drop her phone, however, Mei didn't stick around to hear her girlfriends complaints. She had already picked up her book and was pacing towards their room.
Yuzu sat shocked at Mei's actions, she glanced back and forth between Mei's back and the items on the table. Looking at the plate Mei had practically slammed down, Yuzu saw her favourite sandwich: Spicy chicken and salad, but not cucumber she hated that on bread and Mei knowing this had left it off to the side to eat separately, just how Yuzu preferred it. Along with this was a cup of tea and it was in her favourite cup too.
Picking up one of the slices of cucumber to nibble on, Yuzu leaned back into the couch and let out another sigh. Of course, I had to go and upset her when everything was fine, ugh I'm such an idiot.
Yuzu decided to eat the lunch Mei had prepared for her before going through to resolve things. She didn't think Mei would take kindly to the fact that after making her food Yuzu still didn't eat anything, even if it was to solve an argument.
Everything was just how she liked it, Yuzu couldn't fault anything at all. Mei had even gone to the length of lightly seasoning the chicken; something Yuzu could rarely be bothered to do. The guilt was slowly building up, and as she picked up her favourite mug to sip on the tea, it was the last straw. Mei had cooled the tea down to drinking temperature so Yuzu would be able to drink it with her lunch rather than having to wait for it to cool down.
A knot of uneasiness had wormed its way into Yuzu's stomach as she made her way down the hall. She had already finished her lunch, washed up her dishes and turned off her PlayStation. Yuzu knew that it didn't quite make up for ignoring Mei twice in one sitting but she hoped it would contribute to the recovery time of the argument.
"Mei, can I come in?" Yuzu knocked quietly on the door, it seemed a little weird to be knocking on her own bedroom door but she thought that Mei would prefer her privacy. If Yuzu went barging in it probably wouldn't help her situation.
"This is your room as well as mine, I can't exactly stop you from coming in," Mei replied almost instantly but Yuzu heard no signs of movement on the other side of the door. She sighed as she pushed the door open, Mei's bland straightforward tone told Yuzu that she was quite annoyed. This is gonna be a crappy talk, she's not even looking at me for fuck sake, there isn't even anything to be majorly upset about... Be calm... stay cool...
"That's true, but if you don't want me in here then let me know and I'll give you space." Yuzu slowly edged towards Mei who was sitting at their desk looking over documents.
"Did you eat anything yet?" Mei asked, still focused on the documents in front of her.
"Yes thank you, it was really delicious. Mei I-" Before Yuzu could even begin her apology Mei had started speaking again.
"All I wanted to know was if you had had something to eat, you can leave now." Mei kept her eyes fixed on her paperwork, she really wasn't in the mood for this right now.
"Mei please don't be like that, I'm sorry for not listening to you but I am here to make up for it. I really don't want to argue about this, I just want to make things okay between us, please." Yuzu was still trying to edge closer to her girlfriend, who was refusing to look anywhere in her direction.
"You clearly have much better, more important or entertaining things to do, than talk to or even acknowledge me. So I won't keep you from them," Mei finished her bitter remark still facing the desk, her tone salty and accusing. She knew the words probably hurt Yuzu but at the moment they seemed slightly true.
Yuzu felt a mixture of feelings at the comment, sad that she had made Mei feel like she needed to be alone, but also anger; Yuzu knew Mei was just carrying on the argument for the sake of it. Yuzu also knew that Mei knew she was more important to her than anything else, so the statement only proved that Mei was picking a fight. Maybe it was justified for the blonde's actions but that didn't stop Yuzu being mad.
"Excuse me?! You know that isn't true Mei, you mean more to me than a game. I didn't respond because I didn't hear you, you can't blame me for that! -"Oh yes I can."- Ugh, you know I came through here to apologise but it seems that you don't want me to so just forget it!" Yuzu wasn't shouting but her voice was raised slightly and there was quite a bit of force behind her words. She was on her way to storm out of the room when for the first time Mei lifted her head from the desk.
Not calm and definitely not cool.
"Don't shout at me Yuzu, you are the one in the wrong here! I don't want you to speak to me just because you feel guilty, I would rather you go do what you want to: play on your electronics, as obviously, they are a more appealing way for you to spend your time," Mei had turned the chair to face Yuzu but she didn't get up, she felt that would really raise the stakes of the argument. Yet her try to defend herself did nothing but add to Yuzu's current feeling of anger towards her girlfriend.
"Yeah I was the one in the wrong and I came to say sorry but you just deliberately hurt my feelings! You know what you said isn't anywhere close to being true but you said it anyways cuz you are looking for a fucking fight Mei! I think you achieved your goal!" Yuzu knew deep deep down that she was overreacting and that maybe, just maybe Mei was right but she was too far in now to back down. She couldn't give all that sass then suddenly stop, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to. Mei had purposely said that to hurt her. Whether she was upset or not Yuzu didn't think it was a reason to say hurtful things that she knew were lies.
Looking straight into the lavender eyes that were set ablaze at her words Yuzu grimaced, this is getting way out of hand... but god why is she being so complicated? "When you're ready to stop being so stubborn and moody I'll be in the living room," Yuzu left the room making sure to slam the door behind her.
After storming her way down the hall, being sure to stomp her feet loud enough for Mei to hear them, Yuzu had flung herself into the couch, an unseen act of rebellion against her girlfriend. God how Mei aggravated her sometimes, why couldn't she just let Yuzu apologise like she wanted to? No, she had to start an argument because she was too damn stubborn to listen.
While fighting with her feelings of anger she had whipped out her phone to complain to the one person who always had her back, however it seemed that she too was against Yuzu this time.
Stating: "Matsuri does that to me all the time, I swear I nearly threw her console out the window last week. I'm sorry Yuzuchi but I just can't stand by and let you do that to someone, when it happens to me I am mad beyond reason. I'm siding with Mei, sorry but we are on different sides here. Try talking to Matsuri if you want someone to vent to, I'm sure she will have lots of things for you to say to Mei, she says them to me nearly daily." With Yuzu angered even more by the betrail of her best friend she hastily dialled the number suggested to her, this conversation went very differently.
"Oh god I should have known you would run into a problem like this straight off the bat with Mei,.The only advice I can give you is to say you are sorry and that you won't do it again, even if you know it is a lie. She will get over it, but don't let her throw away your console I still haven't had a chance to play online with you yet..." This conversation went on for almost twenty minutes allowing Yuzu to release her feeling and express her thoughts of the unfairness of the situation.
Yet when it came to the end of the call and she sat and thought about what they were actually arguing about, Yuzu realised that she was being an almighty dick to her girlfriend. Fuck a loud groan escaped Yuzu's lips as she rubbed her eyes with her hands trying to think of a way out of the mess she had created.
The anger had vanished and she was left with the indisputable facts: She had ignored Mei for her phone/game, Mei had made her favourite lunch, Yuzu had ignored her, Mei didn't want to hear Yuzu's guilt-ridden apology because she was mad, Yuzu flipped out. That was it. Where was Yuzu's right to be mad? As far as she could see there was no answer, all that was left was for her to go back to Mei with her tail between her legs ready to try and apologise once again.
Yuzu was once again standing outside her bedroom door with the familiar feeling of lead in her stomach. Unnervingly Yuzu knocked on the door, her heart was beating rapidly as she waited for a response. None came.
"Mei? I'm sorry for the way I reacted before, for the way I accused you... For my language. Please open the door so we can talk, I've realised that I was in the wrong and I really don't want to continue this argument. It was wrong of me to get mad at you for not wanting to talk to me, you had every right to be mad... Mei, are you listening?" Yuzu's words were soft and caring but loud enough that Mei would undoubtedly hear her on the other side of the door.
The door opened and Mei's tear-stained face came into view, the sight sent shivers through Yuzu. "You don't have to apologise Yuzu, I thought it over and I am fine with it now. It doesn't matter anymore, forget it." Mei's words were stoic but Yuzu saw passed it, pushing the door open so she could see Mei properly she instantly wrapped her arms around Mei's neck; Bringing her face to the rightful spot on her girlfriend's neck along with Mei's on her own.
"No you are wrong Mei! What you said was untrue and hurtful but I understand that you were mad and didn't mean it, but that doesn't excuse what I did. I shouldn't have reacted so cruelly to you. I'm sorry if even for a second, you felt you were below anything on my list of priorities. I love you so, so much and I can't apologise enough for ignoring you earlier especially when you went to such lengths to make sure I was okay. I will apologise till I believe you actually feel better. So tell me what's going on in that head of yours, I am really sorry but I'm not a mind reader I need a little help sometimes."Yuzu's attempt to lighten the mood worked as Mei chuckled and pulled her arms up and around Yuzu's waist, feeling relieved to finally be inhaling her lovers scent again.
"...I'm sorry as well, this was a futile argument I don't know why I wouldn't let it go... Yuzu... Can I have a kiss?..." Yuzu pulled away to look at Mei: her cheeks were a glowing pink and her eyes flicked between the floor and Yuzu's lips, unsure if she was allowed to touch them at this moment. Yuzu gave Mei a sad smile, "Of course," she leaned in quickly capturing the plump lips with her own, Mei was stiff at first but she soon melted into the touch she had cried over. The embrace was long, sweet and passionate, Yuzu didn't give way to anything, she needed Mei to feel her right now,.To know that she was one hundred per cent hers.
The kiss soon came to an end, Yuzu reluctantly pulled back and looked into Mei's watering eyes, she immediately went into panic mode. "Mei what's wrong, I thought we made up, what did I do?!" Her voice was hurried and anxious. Mei was quick to ease her girlfriends growing worries, shaking her head and putting a small wavering smile on her face.
"Nothing, I don't know why I'm doing this -She wiped her eyes before her tears could fall, she looked into Yuzu's still concerned eyes- I... love you." Yuzu's expression softened at her words and she took the puffy cheek in her hand and placed another light kiss on her lips. "I love you too, more than anything," A small smile spread over her lips before she left featherlike pecks all over Mei's red face, hoping the action would cheer her lover up. It did. Mei's warm laugh filled the room, the sound gave her butterflies, god how she adored that laugh.
"Mei how about we get out of the apartment, maybe we're just feeling a little cooped up since school finished?" Yuzu pulled back from her final kiss and looked back into those loving eyes, the delicate look Mei was giving her made her heart melt on the spot. She couldn't see any way she could get mad at those precious eyes, and even if she did she would miss them in an instant.
Mei gave a nod but what she really wanted at this very moment was for Yuzu to hold her, for just a little longer. "Okay, but can we stay like this for a little bit?" Mei asked again, nerves evident on her flushed cheeks, Yuzu couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "Whatever you want," She pulled Mei in close for a tight hug, easing both her own and Mei's worries.
每周推薦票狀態
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榜單 
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