Seeing He Yi’s face so close to his, Shang Jingwu was stunned for a moment. Then he reached out and grabbed the back of He Yi’s head, pressing him down. He found He Yi’s slightly swollen lips and kissed them fiercely.
He Yi didn’t resist the kiss, but as soon as Shang Jing finished, he immediately covered his buttocks warily and said, “Honey, I have to go to class today, so I can’t play games with you. Besides, my butt hurts so much, it’ll break if we keep going.”
The phrase “will break” made Shang Jingwu’s breath catch in his throat. He leaned over and lightly bit He Yi’s lower lip, asking angrily, “Didn’t I tell you that this kind of game can only be played with me?”
He Yi nodded obediently and said, “Yes, yes, I remember. I didn’t play with anyone else.”
Shang Jingwu was furious, but he couldn’t explain to He Yi that the beast from yesterday wasn’t him. After all, in a way, they were indeed the same person, not only using the same body but also sharing memories.
But he was still very angry. That guy had suddenly taken over his body without warning, read his memories without permission, and worst of all, slept with his wife.
In the past, when he and He Yi were being intimate, there were several times when they were almost at the end, but every time He Yi cried out in pain, he would soften and they would always stay at the stage of helping each other.
That guy, he took advantage of He Yi’s condition to sleep with him, and he didn’t stop even when He Yi cried out in pain. He’s worse than an animal.
Although Shang Jingwu can now clearly recall the scene, it is still very unpleasant, and Shang Jingwu is so angry that he is about to explode.
What frustrated him the most was that he had nowhere to seek revenge, and he could only suppress his anger. He couldn’t help but complain irrationally that He Yi hadn’t figured out that the person wasn’t him.
In a fit of anger, Shang Jingwu pulled He Yi and kissed him again. He knew that He Yi must be very tired now and couldn’t bear to torment him any further, so he just hugged He Yi and kissed him randomly without doing anything else.
He Yi felt ticklish from his kisses and giggled, trying to get away. Realizing he couldn’t escape, he began to beg for mercy: “Honey, stop teasing me, I’m going to be late for class, hahaha…”
Shang Jingwu breathed a sigh of relief, stopped and looked He Yi up and down, asking, “You can still go to class?”
”Sure,” He Yi said, then complained with a pained expression, “but my back hurts so much, my legs hurt, and my butt hurts so much, it hurts everywhere!”
Seeing his face scrunched up like a bun, Shang Jingwu found it amusing. He pulled him into his arms and began massaging his lower back, then casually asked, “What classes do you have this morning?”
He Yi thought for a moment and said, “It seems to be Ideological and Moral Cultivation.”
“It’s not important, don’t go,” Shang Jingwu said decisively.
He Yi hesitated for a moment: “But I didn’t go to class yesterday afternoon either…”
”It’s alright, Assistant Du has arranged for you to take leave. She even had someone record a video of the teacher’s lecture for you, and she’s copied the course materials too. You can watch it yourself when you have time,” Shang Jingwu explained.
This was the arrangement he made before sleeping with He Yi yesterday. That lust-driven guy finally did something useful.
”Really? Then I won’t go. Honey, you massaged me so well, massage me again.” He Yi said, relaxing and climbing into Shang Jingwu’s arms, exposing his soft waist and abdomen for him to massage him.
Shang Jingwu was worried that he would catch a cold, so he helped him pull his clothes up to cover his stomach, and then put his hand inside to continue massaging him.
He Yi groaned comfortably, and after a while he suddenly said to Shang Jingwu with a grin, “Honey, you’re finally back to normal. You were so fierce the other day.”
Shang Jingwu paused, not explaining the complicated reasons to him, but taking the opportunity to remind him: “If I’m ever this mean to you again, just ignore me and don’t play those kinds of games with me anymore.”
He Yi thought this was some new agreement, and immediately nodded and said, “Okay, okay, I’ll remember.”
Shang Jingwu’s anger subsided a bit. He wasn’t sure if that guy would take over his body again, so he could only give He Yi a heads-up in advance, lest that guy come and sleep with his wife again next time.
Even though it was his body that was used, and he had all the memories from that time, and could even clearly recall how he felt, he still didn’t want it to happen again.
He Yi enjoyed Shang Jingwu’s massage for a while when his stomach suddenly growled. So he rolled over, patted his belly, and said to Shang Jingwu, “Honey, honey, my tummy says it’s hungry. We should get up and have breakfast.”
Shang Jingwu casually touched his flat stomach. “I’ll have someone bring it up.”
Then, while He Yi was eating breakfast, he took a shower. Only after he came out did he remember to ask He Yi what exactly happened yesterday at noon.
“He Yuan asked me to have lunch with her during English class. When I got there, I found there was a male classmate I didn’t recognize. He gave me a Coke and told me to order first, so I thought he was a nice guy. Then, when we were almost finished eating, I felt really hot and wanted to go back here to enjoy the air conditioning and take a nap. But that male classmate suddenly grabbed me and wouldn’t let me leave. He covered my mouth and started groping me…” He Yi was clearly still shaken as he said this, and his face turned pale.
Shang Jingwu quickly took his hand, squeezed it in his palm, and comforted him, saying, “Don’t be afraid, everything is alright now.”
He Yi took a breath and continued, “But I also bit him, I bit his hand until it bled, and I even kicked him once, and then I ran out.”
Shang Jingwu kissed his cheek and praised him, “You did a great job. How about I help you get revenge?”
He Yi’s eyes lit up, and he repeated his words: “Revenge, I want revenge.”
Shang Jingwu then sent a voice message asking someone to bring the man from yesterday over. While waiting, he kept hugging He Yi and occasionally squeezing He Yi’s soft hand.
After the man was brought in, Shang Jingwu patted He Yi on the back and said, “You can punish him however you want.”
Seeing that the bad guy was tied up and couldn’t move, and with Shang Jingwu backing him up, He Yi mustered up his courage and stepped forward, kicking the man a few times while angrily cursing him as a big bad guy. After kicking him for a while, he called him a disgusting ugly monster.
After He Yi vented his anger, Shang Jingwu pulled him back into his arms, wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief, and asked with amusement, “Is this all you need?”
He Yi said breathlessly, “I’m done beating people up. I’m so tired, my legs are so sore.”
Shang Jingwu waved for the bodyguard to take the man away, and continued to massage He Yi’s thigh with his left hand. At the same time, he sent a message to the bodyguard with his free right hand, ordering him: “Castrate him, and also disable both of his hands.”
The fact that he dared to touch He Yi’s body, and that he didn’t have his dirty hands chopped off immediately, is because he’s in a good mood right now.
As for He Yuan, he certainly wouldn’t let her go easily.
Knowing that things hadn’t gone well, He Yuan was afraid that He Yi would bring Shang Jingwu to cause her trouble, so she didn’t go back to school that afternoon and went to hide somewhere.
When Shang Jingwu’s men found her, she was hiding in a hotel on the outskirts of the city. What she didn’t know was that it was not far from the red-light district in the urban-rural fringe. The bodyguards, following Shang Jingwu’s instructions, gave her drugs and then threw her into a nearby massage parlor.
On the other hand, Song Ling and He Hongtu were worried about their daughter who didn’t come home at night, but unexpectedly, their company also suddenly ran into problems.
Upon learning that Shang Jingwu was targeting them, the couple couldn’t understand what their He family had done to offend this fierce man. They were extremely anxious, like ants on a hot pan, and tried to find connections to see Shang Jingwu, but they kept running into walls. Friends who used to have a good relationship with their He family were now avoiding them like the plague, which made the couple very worried.
Since Shang Jingwu explicitly stated his intention to bankrupt the He family, naturally no one dared to help them.
He Yi knew nothing about these things. Just like the fire, Shang Jingwu still didn’t intend to tell him the real reason, nor would he tell him about those shady ways of dealing with things. He just deliberately scolded him with a stern face, telling him not to go out to eat with other people casually in the future, and not to eat anything given to him by others, nor to drink any beverages.
He Yi nodded, seemingly understanding, and said, “I’ll remember.”
Shang Jingwu thought about how frightened He Yi had been yesterday, and seeing how well-behaved he was now, he added, “Tell me what you want to eat in the future, and I will buy it for you. You can’t accept anything from others.”
When He Yi heard that he could ask Shang Jingwu for food, he immediately kissed Shang Jingwu happily, thanked him politely, and then asked with some confusion, “Why aren’t we not allowed to ask for food or drinks?”
”No,” Shang Jingwu said firmly, then glanced at He Yi indifferently and asked, “Isn’t my money enough for you? Why would you want someone else’s things?”
He Yi took a moment to realize what Shang Jingwu meant, and said, “Oh, I understand.”
Then he rolled his dark eyes, leaned close to Shang Jingwu’s ear, and whispered, “Honey, honey, how much money do you have? Can you tell me secretly? Will I eat you out of house and home?”
Shang Jingwu found his question hilarious and pinched his cheek, saying, “You can eat as much as you want, you can eat for hundreds of years and it won’t bankrupt me.”
He Yi’s eyes immediately lit up as he looked at Shang Jingwu, as if he were looking at a mountain of gold, and he said with great admiration, “Really? Honey, you’re so rich!”
Shang Jingwu couldn’t help but laugh. So this little fool didn’t know he was rich before? He really is incredibly naive.
He Yi got Shang Jingwu’s promise, and since Shang Jingwu wasn’t as fierce as he had been a few days ago, he lay in bed for a while and then started complaining of hunger again, listing a bunch of things he wanted to eat and asking Shang Jingwu to buy them for him.
After listening, Shang Jingwu couldn’t help but ask doubtfully, “If you eat so much, will you even be able to eat lunch later?”
”Yes, yes!” He Yi said confidently.
”Little glutton,” Shang Jingwu muttered, then made a list of the things he had just wanted to eat and sent someone to buy them.
”I didn’t eat dinner last night, and I was really tired from playing games yesterday, so I needed to recharge,” He Yi said matter-of-factly.
Mentioning this makes me angry; I feel like I’m soaking in a vat of vinegar, so sour.
He felt a pang of jealousy for a while, then suddenly realized something.
The current He Yi is not the original person; this is basically confirmed. The original He Yi was an adult, but this one… could he not be an adult yet?
Shang Jingwu sized up He Yi for a while, then asked seriously, “He Yi, how old are you this year?”
He Yi was surprised that Shang Jingwu would ask such a question. He counted on his fingers carefully and then said, “I’m eighteen years old. My nineteenth birthday is in a few months!”
Shang Jingwu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The little guy was a bit silly, but at least he was an adult.
Since He Yi mentioned his birthday, he casually asked, “When is your birthday?”
”Honey, will you celebrate my birthday on February 27th?” He Yi asked Shang Jingwu excitedly and expectantly.
This date is easier to remember; Shang Jingwu vaguely remembers that He Yi’s real birthday is also on this day.
Is it just a coincidence?
He frowned and pressed on, “Do you remember what you said to me when the fire started that day?”
He Yi didn’t understand how the topic suddenly jumped to the fire. He scratched his head and thought for a while, then roughly repeated what he had said at the time.
”Which world are you referring to? Where did you live before?” Shang Jingwu asked.
He Yi blinked and said honestly, “I don’t know where we’re going, but I know this is actually a book. Honey, don’t tell anyone, or they’ll think you’re an idiot and take you to the doctor.”
Shang Jingwu was taken aback. “How did you know this was a book?”
“I read it, and there’s someone in the book with the same name as me! Also called He Yi! That’s why I came here after I died,” He Yi speculated.
”Do you remember what the book was about?” Shang Jingwu asked, puzzled.
He Yi shook his head. “I only watched the beginning, and I haven’t finished watching it yet, and then I came here.”
Shang Jingwu thought to himself, “As expected, if He Yi had finished reading the book, even if he was stupid, he should have avoided Shang Jingyun. But he had no guard against Shang Jingyun before.”
Seeing that Shang Jingwu had suddenly fallen silent and seemed lost in thought, He Yi couldn’t help but lean closer and ask in a coquettish tone, “So, honey, will you celebrate my birthday?”
Shang Jingwu’s train of thought was interrupted, and he said helplessly, “I’ll celebrate with you.”
“When is your birthday, honey? I want to celebrate your birthday too!” He Yi said with a smile.
”My birthday has already passed,” Shang Jingwu said calmly.
Actually, he hasn’t celebrated his birthday in recent years, and if anyone brings it up in front of him, he can’t help but get angry, so no one dares to mention celebrating his birthday anymore.
He Yi didn’t notice Shang Jingwu’s emotional change. He counted on his fingers one by one and said, “This year is over, but there’s next year, the year after next, the year after that, and the year after that. And you said you wouldn’t abandon me, so there are still many, many years to go!”
Shang Jingwu was initially a little down because of the date, but he was immediately amused by He Yi’s silly appearance. He patted He Yi’s head and mumbled, “Then let’s talk about it next year.”
He Yi originally wanted to ask Shang Jingwu what day his birthday was so he could prepare a birthday gift in advance, but when he saw Du Yuwei come in with a big bag of snacks, he instantly forgot about it and excitedly ran off the bed to eat snacks. Then, while he was eating, it was time for lunch, so he went to eat lunch.
Seeing him munching away with his little mouth, Shang Jingwu inexplicably felt hungry while watching him, and ended up eating much more than usual for lunch.
In the afternoon, he still didn’t let He Yi go to school, and he didn’t go to the company either. Instead, he and He Yi snuggled up on the sofa in the living room and watched a movie.
While watching, Shang Jingwu massaged He Yi, who ate potato chips while watching, thoroughly enjoying himself. After watching, the two went back to the bedroom for a nap and didn’t get up until evening to return to the Shang family’s old house.
I had dinner with my grandfather. The two of them didn’t go home last night, and Shang Jingwu didn’t go to the company all day today, so my grandfather couldn’t help but ask a few questions.
Before Shang Jingwu could answer, He Yi excitedly told the old man, “We played games yesterday, and then we were so tired that we slept for a long time. My husband even slept in this morning.”
Upon hearing this, the old man looked at Shang Jingwu with great interest, wanting to know if it was really as He Yi had said.
Shang Jingwu looked away uncomfortably and explained vaguely, “Yesterday… I was quite tired, so I rested for an extra day today.”
The old man hadn’t seen him acting so secretive in a long time, and he was starting to have doubts when he saw He Yi pointing at Shang Jingwu’s earlobe and asking, “Honey, why is your earlobe so red? Is it hot?”
Shang Jingwu angrily slapped He Yi’s hand away. Seeing that he was about to say something out of line again, he quickly covered his mouth. He Yi glared at him with wide eyes, expressing his dissatisfaction with muffled noises.
The old man watched the couple playfully bickering, his eyes crinkling into slits with laughter.
Seeing that He Yi was not only quickly at a disadvantage, but also looked pitiful being bullied by Shang Jingwu, the old man quickly smoothed things over, saying, “Alright, alright, Jingwu, don’t bully Xiao Yi too much. Let’s eat, let’s eat.”
Shang Jingwu gave He Yi a warning look before letting go of his hand.
He Yi took a breath, afraid that Shang Jingwu would cover his mouth again, and quickly said in a formal manner, “I won’t say anything anymore, I’m going to eat.”
Shang Jingwu tucked the tablecloth around his neck with a sour face, and then helped him pick out the fish bones.
The old man watched silently from the side, feeling extremely pleased.
After dinner, the old man kept Shang Jingwu behind to ask about Shang Jingyun. During the day, Shang Xingzhi came to him to complain, saying that Shang Jingwu was deliberately targeting Shang Jingyun. The old man believed that Shang Jingwu had his own reasons for doing so, but he still had to ask as a formality.
“He’s not young anymore. Second uncle spoils him here, and he hangs out with a bunch of bad friends every day. I’m sending him out to temper his temper. After a while, I’ll move him to a place with better conditions,” Shang Jingwu said in a high-sounding manner.
Whether the old man believed him or not, he didn’t press further and instead changed the subject: “Then what about the He family?”
“They did something they shouldn’t have done,” Shang Jingwu said coldly.
The old man carefully observed his expression and guessed, “Did you bully Xiao Yi?”
Shang Jingwu hummed in agreement, then suddenly said, “Grandpa, could you give me the contact information for that doctor you mentioned last time?”
The old man wondered if he had misheard and asked incredulously, “Jingwu, what did you just say?”
”I said, could you please give me the contact information for the doctor you mentioned last time?” Shang Jingwu repeated.
”You…you’re willing to see a doctor?” The old man almost cried tears of joy.
Shang Jingwu hurriedly said, “Grandpa, please don’t get excited, take care of your health.”
The old man then realized that he had just had a strong emotional outburst. He took a deep breath, patted his chest, and calmed himself down before saying, “I’ll have Lao Li give you his contact information later. You… go and get it checked out. The doctor said there’s hope for recovery.”
Shang Jingwu nodded, took the doctor’s business card from Uncle Li, and went back.
As the old man watched Shang Jingyun’s departing figure in his wheelchair, two streams of tears involuntarily streamed down his face.
He waited for fourteen long years until the child was finally willing to move on from the shadow of that accident.
Fourteen years ago, the day before Shang Jingwu’s birthday, his parents planned to take him on a vacation abroad, but they were involved in a car accident on their way to the airport.
There were four people in the car, including the driver. In the end, only Shang Jingwu survived, but he was left with a disability in both legs.
Despite the grief of suddenly losing his son and daughter-in-law, the old man sought out many doctors for Shang Jingwu, hoping to cure his leg.
However, after Shang Jingwu woke up in the hospital and learned that his parents had passed away, he refused to accept treatment no matter what, and even attempted suicide.
The old man was afraid that he would do something rash, and he was also heartbroken that he had suddenly lost his parents at such a young age. So he turned down his work and various family matters and stayed at the hospital every day to stay by his side. However, after many days, there was no improvement. The old man even put aside his status as an elder and begged him to live on.
Later, Shang Jingwu did not attempt suicide again, but he still refused to treat his legs, which dragged on for more than ten years. This matter almost became a source of great anxiety for the old man.
He watched helplessly as the once spirited and athletic young man lost his chance to run, spending his days in a wheelchair and becoming increasingly gloomy. Although he later achieved some success in business, he lived like an old man on his deathbed at a young age, devoid of any human warmth, which he could never accept.
If he hadn’t believed the fortune teller and forced the marriage, the child would probably still be the same as before. If he had passed away that day, he probably wouldn’t have been able to face his son and daughter-in-law in the afterlife.
Fortunately, now that He Yi is here, everything is moving in a positive direction, the old man thought with relief.
.
The next day, He Yi saw Ah Hu again when he went to school. Shang Jingwu was afraid that something might happen to him at school, so he specially transferred Ah Hu back.
He Yi was quite familiar with Ah Hu, so this time he didn’t refuse to let Ah Hu come along.
Ah Hu has almost finished investigating Xiao Wen’s interpersonal relationships. Xiao Wen’s full name is Cheng Wen. Because he has fair skin and is very thin, he looks young, so everyone usually calls him Xiao Wen. In fact, he is not young anymore and is about to turn thirty. Because he is busy with work, he is not married yet and does not have a girlfriend or boyfriend.
Ah Hu investigated his family members and discovered that his father had a gambling addiction, and that his addiction was very serious, spending almost every day in the casino.
The salary the Shangs paid him was enough for his family to live comfortably, but his father gambled away all the money he sent home, leaving them with a mountain of debt, so he stopped sending money home.
However, his mother was recently diagnosed with uremia and needed a considerable amount of money for treatment, which would be a significant sum for an ordinary person. He raised some money and sent it back to his mother for treatment, but his father gambled it away, and this time he also incurred a large debt from loan sharks.
The debt collectors heard that he was working for a wealthy family and would swagger over to his door every day demanding money. If he didn’t get the money, they would harass his parents in every way possible. Cheng Wen lost all his savings but still couldn’t plug the hole his father had created. Then, not long after, a sum of money from an unknown source appeared in his account. The true identity of the person who made the payment has not yet been investigated.
After reading the report, Shang Jingwu instructed his men to continue investigating how Cheng Wen’s father developed a gambling addiction. He clearly remembered that this had never happened before, otherwise he would have discovered it long ago.
After the subsequent investigation, Shang Jingwu was not surprised to find that Cheng Wen’s father had been deliberately lured into gambling, and it had only been about half a year since then.
The account that sent money to Cheng Wen was eventually traced to a man named Xu Xiaodong. He was also involved in luring Cheng’s father into gambling. Coincidentally, this man went to the same place as Shang Jingwu and the others during the National Day holiday and stayed at the same hotel. After the fire, he disappeared without a trace and never returned to China, so his whereabouts are currently unknown.
On the other hand, Cheng Wen’s autopsy report also came out, confirming that he drowned. What was suspicious was that he had taken a certain dose of sleeping pills before his death, and the drug’s composition was exactly the same as that detected in Shang Jingwu’s blood. This made it impossible not to suspect that he was drugged and thrown into the sea.
Because the trail went cold on Xu Xiaodong, whose whereabouts were unknown, Shang Jingwu ordered people to continue investigating his interpersonal relationships in China and who he usually had financial dealings with.
This name did not appear in the original novel. Shang Jingwu originally thought that the person who was controlling Xu Xiaodong behind the scenes was Shang Jingyun, but he did not expect that the person who had financial dealings with Xu Xiaodong was actually Shang Xingzhi’s subordinate.
This time, Shang Jingwu didn’t stand on ceremony with Shang Xingzhi. He directly presented the evidence to him and asked him what was going on.
After looking through the documents for a while, Shang Xingzhi, bewildered, immediately denied it with an angry expression: “It wasn’t me! I didn’t do this! Jingwu, don’t you trust your second uncle’s character? When have I ever harmed you?”
Shang Jingwu sneered and retorted, “Is that so?”
In fact, he had always suspected that the car accident more than ten years ago was related to Shang Xingzhi, because the person with the most motive to harm his parents was Shang Xingzhi. Logically speaking, the business should have been handed over to Shang Xingzhi after his father died. However, he grew up too fast, and the old man intended to take care of him, so the power was handed over to him.
Shang Xingzhi had always harbored resentment about this, a fact that even a blind man could see.
However, over the years, Shang Jingwu has been unable to find any evidence to prove that the accident was related to Shang Xingzhi. All signs indicate that the car accident was a pure traffic accident. Even the book did not mention whether Shang Xingzhi was behind his parents’ deaths.
”Of course! Jingwu, how can you not believe your second uncle? I watched you grow up. Ever since my eldest brother and sister-in-law passed away, I have always treated you like my own son. How could I want to harm you?” Shang Xingzhi hurriedly defended himself.
Shang Jingwu coldly watched his clumsy performance, disgusted by his shameless words.
After staring at Shang Xingzhi for a while, Shang Jingwu smiled noncommittally, pointed to the stack of documents, and asked, “So what do you think is going on here?”
Shang Xingzhi said excitedly, “Someone must have deliberately framed me! They want to sow discord between you and me! You should investigate this thoroughly. This person might have been bribed by someone with ulterior motives. I really didn’t ask him to harm you, Jingwu, you have to believe me, or I swear on my life, if I did this, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!”
Shang Jingwu began to feel that he didn’t seem to be lying. Either the old guy was a master of deception and a great actor, or someone had indeed framed this idiot.
However, at least for now, the evidence on the surface points to Shang Xingzhi. As long as this evidence exists, Shang Xingzhi will have to keep a low profile in front of him from now on. So he first used this as an opportunity to give Shang Xingzhi a warning, then said that he would continue to investigate, and then sent Shang Xingzhi back.
He Yi remained completely unaware of these clandestine affairs. He went to school happily every day, did his homework at home in the evening, spent time intimate with Shang Jingwu, and enjoyed endless delicious food. He couldn’t have lived a more comfortable life.
After finishing his work, Shang Jingwu made time to see a doctor.
After understanding his situation, the doctor developed a detailed treatment plan for him. Because his current physical condition was relatively good, the doctor suggested that he have surgery as soon as possible. Shang Jingwu considered it for two days and then agreed.
When He Yi heard that Shang Jingwu was going abroad for surgery, he asked with a worried look, “Honey, what kind of surgery are you going to have? Will it be dangerous?”
The surgery was actually quite risky. If it failed, Shang Jingwu would never be able to stand up again. But he didn’t tell He Yi the truth. Instead, he smiled and said, “There won’t be any danger. Take good care of yourself during this time and be obedient. I’ll be back soon.”
”I want to go with you,” He Yi said, still worried.
Shang Jingwu was afraid that He Yi would worry about him if he went, so he deliberately asked, “What about your school classes? If you go, you’ll have to take a long leave of absence, and then you won’t be able to get your scholarship.”
He Yi pouted and said coquettishly, “But I want to be with my husband.”
Shang Jingwu reached out and pinched his puffed-up cheek, and laughed, “Didn’t I tell you, the surgery is very safe? I’ll be back after it’s done. You focus on your studies and wait for me at home. I’ll bring you a gift then.”