Surprisingly Good Historical Mini Drama

I am very glad I came across this and decided to give it a try. I didn't have any expectations. After reading the description and summary and some of the discussion postings on mydramalist, the storyline intrigued me enough to give it a go. This is NOT a fluffy youth drama and it seems like there was a decent budget and thought spent on its production for a short web series. Its not a high budget drama like some of the hyped up full fledged CDramas; for a short web series, it was decent and above par compared to its peers. While it is a VERY different drama from Goodbye My Princess, it's similar in the sense its a web series with a unique take and a decent production feel to it that makes it stand out.

The costumes and settings are beautiful and do not look cheap. It is not a fluffy youth drama but it has comedic elements and liked how there really aren't any draggy parts since each episode is pretty compact. I do wish it was made into a full featured drama as there are plenty other CDramas that are bad but given so much more production time than this. I wasn't familiar with any of the actors and actresses which is a bonus since sometimes it gets tiring seeing the same popular actors and actresses over and over again. Glad there are others who are given a chance to provide a refreshing take on characters. I thought the actors and actresses did a pretty good job and they were engaging and believable in their roles. I was skeptical with how they would pull off the love story of the ML and FL characters in the midst of mystery and political intrigue and with each episode being pretty short, they pulled it off.

As a warning, the english subs are limited and aren't great; it was good enough series that I overlooked it and replayed some parts again to get a better understanding.

Whoever penned the web series, original story and the director should be given more projects in the future. Good Job. Its so refreshing to find this after a few disappointing CDramas

Finally finished this, the ending didn't quite hit the mark but overall it is still a very good short web series.

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Fighting for Stupidity

When I read the synopsis I was excited with the premise of a strong female character who excels in war strategies and becomes a female general. The FL is intelligent, devious at times and cross dresses as a man, there's a lot of male brotherhood camaraderie she develops with other male characters which is nice because sometimes its not all just about romantic love. While she is talented, the parts where she goes from commoner to elite fighting soldier with top notch archery and horsemanship skills was unrealistic.

The love story really falls flat in my opinion. The ML is good looking but he's a bumbling idiot supposed playboy. His character is really flat and not bright. Its hard to believe he can last as a general for even a minute. I can't really feel drawn to his character. The love story between them doesn't have any emotional pull, its a bit robotic and forced in the acting. Maybe its me but it might be more interesting to see two robots fall in love than the FL and ML.

The SML and the FL seems to have more chemistry as they are on opposing sides and the SML is smart and bold. I watched it because I wanted to see how their story unfolds even though its pretty clear the FL will not end up with the SML. They should have really developed their story more because it was more compelling and a bit more complex than the FL's love story arc with the ML.

Overall it could have been executed better, the last dozen or so episodes was a bit of fast forwarding. I completed it because I was curious how it works out between the FL and SML and how she breaks through to become a general.

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Fascinating Study of an Antihero Demon and the Heroic Immortal

Wow, this blew me away with how good it is so far even though I'm not a Xianxia die hard. This is no fluffy youth drama and even the romance is not really emphasized in the initial episodes. It's high budget with big name stars that live up to its expectations of an engaging storyline that is a complex character study of the ML. The relationship between the ML and FL is also complicated as she needs to save him to prevent future calamity even though he had harmed her immortal family and sect. The storyline, plotting, and pacing are done fairly well and my hope is the quality will be maintained for future episodes.

The initial episodes are dedicated to examining how the Antihero ML was bullied, was considered an outcast and a harbinger of bad omens. He is shunned and tossed off by his father who is the king of the Jing Kingdom and becomes a hostage prince in the Sheng Kingdom. I've seen the ML in Love like Ashes and he knocks his role out of the park with this one. He fits the Bryonic antihero character like a glove. His mannerisms and facial expressions reflecting the darkness, moodiness and the numbness from the betrayals and lack of love in his life. The morally grey leanings and his pale physical appearance of being emaciated paves the path for his eventual rise to become the Demon Lord. I've also been impressed with Bai Lu the FL, she seems to have picked some good projects in the last few years (one or two bad ones) with storylines that have depth and are not conventional (Arsenal Military Academy, Beautiful Bones).

A must watch in 2023 for Xianxia Cdrama fans who like dark storylines.

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Slow Burn Healing Drama

It is a decent watch, the pace of the drama is slow and focuses more on the slice of life dynamics in the S. Korean countryside when a city girl from Seoul moves there to heal. The FL experiences the death of her mother, the breakup of her boyfriend, and the constant bullying and undermining of her in the workplace. She's stuck in a dead end job and her life in Seoul is falling apart. All of it is too much for the FL so she quits her job, sells almost everything she owns and with a leap of faith moves to the S. Korean countryside. The drama gently touches on themes of simple living, money vs time, and quality of life; these themes have resonated globally the last few years. These topics have made some question what is the meaning of their lives and does the rat race narrative fit into who they are and what they truly want. The Great Resignation, Lying Flat 谭平, and N포 세대 N-Give Up generation are examples of this.

As for the love story itself, it is a slow burn and pretty conservative. The FL meets the ML when she moves to the countryside. The ML is a librarian, he seems to have trauma in his past that has led him down the path of a low key lifestyle as a part time librarian. The acting is done pretty well, the FL does a good job transitioning from being depressed and just staying afloat but not truly living to someone who embraces living slow, simply, and stepping away from a status and material chasing world. The ML suits his part very well, he is boyishly handsome, sweet, and has a shy soft gentle nature in his interactions with people in the small community.

If you want a light hearted slow burn romance story that touches on themes of healing, slowing down and meditative living, this is the drama.

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The Weak Hero who packs a nasty punch

Would like to give a big thank you to all the previous reviewers and reviews; because of those reviews, this went up in my watch list. After watching a few dramas and movies such as Better Days that deftly if not heartbreakingly tell the story of bullying, this one is up there in its unique quality albeit with a different angle focused on shifting alliances and developing friendships of several teens. There is less emphasis on the male/female romantic relationship dynamic. This drama doesn't just focus on the bullying at school, its gives a glimpse of how its weaved into the fabric of society at all levels whether its parents bullying their kids or in low level criminal gangs.

It was an interesting casting choice with the ML, he has a pretty boy face and even though he's supposed to be 5'8, the other male actors seem to tower over him which adds to the concept of a weak hero. I've seen the ML in Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency which is a real light hearted rom-com and he plays an entirely different role in this. Its dark and at times it gets intense. His acting in this role is good, he captures the nuances of someone who has been suffering from parental neglect and being an outsider in his school. He seems depressed or numb to it all but is still motivated to do well academically which makes him a target with the bullies. His personality of not wavering when the bullies challenge him keeps him in the crosshairs. The situation ends up spiraling out of control. All the actors and actresses did a really job breathing life in their roles. There are some areas I felt was pretty good in adding realism to the motivation in the character's actions. When Oh Beom Seok asks Ahn Soo Ho to help Yeon Shi Eun when he's dragged off by thugs for a beating, Ahn Soo Ho declines since he's not that close with Yeon Shi Eun. Ahn Soo Ho isn't going to go out of his way to help someone unless there's some benefit that he gets out of it. Oh Beom Seok is meek and conflicted with the bullying he has endured at school and at the hands of his father. He comes from privilege but even with it, it doesn't allow him to escape from bullying in the school.

There's a fair amount of bare knuckle and knife fights, they look realistic and were choregraphed pretty well. The ML isn't a skilled fighter but he does have quick wit and a fair amount of courageous insanity that he brings to a fight. Since he is underestimated, he catches his opponents with an element of surprise and he has a lack of hesitation in making the first move once he's cornered. The ML does get beaten up a fair amount so it's not like he's some superhero dude who with a flick of his finger knocks all the thugs out. Kudos to the story tellers for adding that realism but you do question the ML's sanity in some situations where the odds were really stacked against him.

The drama was pretty well written, good acting, and the pacing was good - I didn't feel bored at any point, it is a rollercoaster of emotions. Appreciate the quality storytelling angle on bullying and the social effects from it.

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Glorious Revenge served Cold

This caught my attention when I found out the screen writer of Mr. Sunshine was also the writer for this Drama. After seeing a few other dramas with themes of bullying and revenge, it can be an emotionally turbulent ride for the viewer due to the intensity of those topics. For those with power and/or wealth who think they can get away with it without any consequences, this show tries to turn the tables with the poor and powerless drawing on their inner strength and hatred to execute their war path towards retribution.

The FL comes from a dysfunctional family with a mother who doesn't give a crap about her and sells her out in the end. She carries scars physically and emotionally from the intense sociopathic bullying she deals with from a group of emotionally stunted kids with the kingpin being a pretty rich girl who knows she will remain untouchable no matter how far she goes with the bullying. The FL carefully over the years plots out her revenge and dedicates her life to it while the bully kingpin rich girl continues to thrive in her superficial life with her weathercaster job and bagging a rich guy as her husband.

This is a dark adult drama (Netflix style), as a warning there are some adult scenes (no full on nudity). Its quite bleak at times, the FL as a teen has no where to turn with almost everyone turning their back on her. The FL suffers from bouts of PTSD and lasting psychological damage in adulthood. The actresses and actors do an amazing job playing their parts. The FL is a popular actress, this is my first time seeing her in a KDrama; she does a really good job with her role as a smart somber scarred individual who simmers in her hatred against her bullies. The ML is a talented underrated actor, so far he carries all his parts pretty well in the dramas I've seen.

It's a very good psychological revenge drama with good pacing, looking forward to S2.

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Historical Mystery Detective Bromance

Finally this was released in 2023! There's been plenty of CDramas held up for whatever reasons and glad this one made it out alive. I saw the trailer for this last year and it seemed good which floated up to the top of the watch list. It looked like a high quality mystery detective drama coupled with a serious darker storyline. I hate getting excited about the trailer and then being disappointed once I start watching the drama.

So far it has lived up to expectations. The first few episodes really started to pick up with the mystery of the first ML who is the Minister of Rites. The other ML is entangled in the intrigue as a scholar amateur detective trying to figure out the murder of a member in the acting troupe. Imperial palace politics are weaved in, the empress does a good job carrying her role as the one who is in charge and with the power. The cinematography is excellent and high quality, attention was paid to the details of the costumes and settings, and the details within the story have been developed pretty well. As each clue is being discovered by Zhang Ping, it feels like the story tellers are carefully unwinding the puzzles of the case for the viewers as it is being solved by the amateur detective. Are there a few situations where it is a bit far fetched? Yes but the positives of the show outweigh those.

The ML played by Jing Boran, the Minister of Rites acted pretty well in his part, an official who is a son of a traitor embroiled in intrigue due to his desire to solve the mystery of his past but has to hide and be deceiving of his true intentions. The other ML is the amateur detective played by Song Weilong. He is so-so in his role. I have seen him in other dramas, I found him to to be on the stiffer side and not quite on point with his acting abilities in his roles. A fair number of viewers find him eye catching in the eye candy department and he doesn't disappoint in that area.

No M/F romance so far and not really expecting it. There isn't too much action involving martial arts, the heavy hitting part of the drama relies on the detective storyline with cases that are investigated and the developing bro-love between the MLs and other SML characters in a male centric drama.

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Initially a Winner but loses some steam

I have had this on my watchlist for a while and have been eagerly anticipating this. I binged all the episodes released so far. The history of eunuchs in the Chinese Imperial Dynasties is an intriguing if not sad part of Chinese history, there were some who were puppet masters behind the scenes. I was excited to find out the ML plays a morally grey eunuch (real or not) who has been ruthless in his struggle for power while he plots his revenge. Dylan Wang is completely perfect for this part, his acting, mannerisms, and his subtle expressions engages the viewers as a scheming eunuch. I wasn't a fanboy of Dylan Wang in Meteor Garden but he has grown so much in the roles he has picked so far. His character has a strong presence and he seems to be well matched with the Empress Rong An as a foe. The actress who plays the Empress also played the stern mother in Love Like the Galaxy and she is a terrific actress, she is well suited as a scheming power hungry Empress. The focus of the initial episodes are a set up of palace intrigue and dirty schemes that the ML has to engage in order to survive and to grow his power. The story tellers haven't made the palace politics so cumbersome and complicated that it makes it hard to follow, they have done a pretty good job in the plotting and keeping it clean so viewers don't get lost.

Unchained/Forbidden Love starts off as a darker and more serious drama compared to LBFAD; they do try to add some comedic/lighter parts in the scenes with the FL when the story progresses further. The FL seems to have more screen time in the middle part of the series and pretty much all the screen time with her is the light comedic side of the series. Those have been okay. One scene that stood out between the ML and FL developing relationship is when she used the analogy of the ML as a day lily plant, on the surface the plant's roots are superficially poisonous which it has to be to survive a threatening environment but when you look closer at it, it can be edible and has a unique sweetness to it.

This is a high budget drama so the cinematography, costumes, and production values show that level of quality.

Compelling forbidden love story or not; I am here for the story of the scheming eunuch with DW and Imperial palace power politics.

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Who does she pick?

I planned to watch the first two episodes and hours later I had finished all 15 of the available episodes in one sitting. It is binge worthy. I wasn't a fan of Yang Zi's dramas but this one is a standout drama for her. She doesn't act too immature and the role suits her well. Initially she is a man but her true form is of course all woman :). She is an orphan who is a brassy village physician who can be petty at times in a humorous way. Her true background is a princess who had a deep childhood connection with Cang Xuan, they become separated during childhood. She later encounters the MLs, one she nurses back to health from the torture he endured; the other is a nine tailed demon who drinks her blood to replenish his health, and the other childhood love is her frenemy.

Each ML has a different romantic relationship with her and has a compelling enough personality, you become invested in them . What I thought was unique about this is she doesn't become committed to her one true love. She acknowledges the complexities in attraction and bond to other love interests such as Xiang Liu who was pretty abusive towards her in the beginning but that is the draw of bad boys. At first, I wasn't really feeling it with Xiang Liu with the FL but it really develops later on. The boat scene between them where he poses as a woman so the FL could let her guard down makes your heart flutter a bit. I saw the trailers for future episodes of future interactions between them, Xiang Liu flirts and sucks her into his web.

Cang Xuan is really handsome and the actor does such a good job portraying the longing he had for her. Just looking at him in those scenes is enough to send butterflies everywhere. He is really good in his role with the complexity of his character, you never got the sense he was a straight up good guy but had a combination of self interest, darkness, and thirst for power. He probably isn't good for the FL either, his attraction for her really develops after she transitions back to her original gender and he sees her beauty when she is back to her true form. Why couldn't he love her in that way before? The other two MLs developed their love for her before they saw her true form.

It may of been intentional of the story, as a viewer I found myself drawn all over the place to the different relationships between the FL and the three MLs. You just couldn't commit to one, I guess its good to be a player!

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Saw it based on all the Hype with a 宝宝 FL

After a few years since its been out, I finally got around to seeing it early this year. GF saw it around the time it came out and has been asking me to watch it with her since then. She didn't mind watching it all over again. *All 63 episodes* Amazing, applaud her for the dedication.

What is the verdict? Uh... it's ok. I'm not really a Xianxia fan.

What's the short of it?

Xianxia Genre. Grape fairy who can't fall in love and wants to level up on magical powers quickly, Phoenix Immortal loves her first, Grape fairy or Frosty Flower later on can love him back but Phoenix Immortal needs to come around to loving her again. Some comedy in the first half. Second half is Romeo and Juliet angst, drama, major misunderstandings, rinse and repeat.

Why would one want to watch this?

* All 63 freaking episodes is devoted to the love, angst, and drama. I will say there were parts of the storyline which were engaging. The ML does a pretty good job with his acting, he has the ingredients of:

- Pompousness and Pride
- Inexperience and naiveness with love (isn't he supposed to be an Immortal that has lived thousands of years? You would think he would have honed his love skills)
- Courage and Willingness to go against authority
- Some initial coldness towards the FL
- Being a Powerful Immortal
- His face kind of looks like a Bird

With all those ingredients combined, viola you have the recipe for the Ultimate Romantic Bird Immortal ML. The way he shows his emotions on his face while he is gradually falling in love with her and the passion he has for her was believable even if it got cringey.
* The storyline where the ML and FL end up in the mortal realm was the best in my opinion. The love that unfolds between them is told pretty well and you are drawn in as a viewer to the love story.
* Cute FL, yes she is cute like a bunny
* OST is good
* Love triangle and power struggle, some hate it and some love it. It's meh.

Why would one not want to watch this?

* The FL acted really childish 宝宝 and kinda stupid in the first half of the drama. I didn't really like the personality. She was completely unbelievable as a male attendant for the Phoenix Immortal. The scenes where her hair gets unpinned, it falls down, and she is finally seen as a girl who is extremely pretty were cheesy. They might be immortal but they lack a fair amount of brains.
* Cheesy Xianxia settings, costumes, and roles.
* Leave your brain in between the gap of the door and door frame before entering, let the door slam firmly shut and squish it to pieces.
* Love triangle. See the bullet in the above section.
* Didn't like the love story of the Demon Princess and her SML lover.
* It dragged on for far too long. The last 6 or 7 episodes really sucked in my opinion and wasn't necessary. Fast forward time.

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At 10:06 the cute roommate shows up

Saw this pop up as a new series and was not familiar with the leads or the story. I thought I would give it a try based on the comments.

The gist of it so far is the ML and the FL live in the same apartment during different time periods. At 10:06 there's some strange time and space overlap where the ML and FL become roommates until approximately 10:52 , they are four months apart in time with the ML in 2022 and FL in 2021. There's also the backdrop of the mystery with the case the ML is involved in as a lawyer that weaves itself into the storyline.

Usually it takes a couple of episodes to sort of work its way through to get me engaged in the story, the first episode did a good job of captivating me despite the preposterous nature of the story. Anything with mystical time travel meld mish mash or whatever it is I usually just shove my brain somewhere else while I watch it and this is no exception. They do try to explain it somewhat but whatever.

The pacing is done pretty well, so far there aren't any moments where I sigh in exasperation or start snoring. There is a decent production quality to it; it's not another cheap cookie cutter budget drama that is churned out en masse.

The acting is good, the ML seems to shine, he seems like he's meant for the part. Its refreshing since there's plenty of big name ML actors who are wooden and need to tweak their abilities in this area. The moments when the ML first encounters the FL when the space time meld occurs is funny and his reactions are pretty realistic for someone who is completely baffled and frightened by the sheer incomprehensible nature of the situation. Their reactions evolve from being frightened to subsequent arguments and fights to partners who work together trying to alter the direction of the tragedy of their best friends between the present and future. The FL is cute, she looks like she barely wears any makeup and its just so nice to see someone who just looks normal as a FL.

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Turned out to be an addictive watch

I started the first episode and before I knew it I had finished 6 episodes. This was different from what I expected, I thought it would be too cheesy for me. The first episode with the dark supernatural opening hooked me in even though this show so far is not dark, it is a light comedy romance. The storyline is unique and I think the writing is good. This made me laugh so hard in some parts, the ML being "entranced" by the FL is so over the top. She did a good job with her reactions to his professions of love for her, its to a point she's about to pound her head on the wall out of frustration. It seems there's a bit of be careful what you wish for.

Get a Grip Shin Yu!

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Light Hearted and Funny Fantasy

There are a lot of reviews for this, this review will be another drop in the ocean. Its a light youth fantasy CDrama for Xianxia diehards.

Is it mind blowing? No.
Does it have many plot holes? Yes, its Xianxia for god's sake.
Is it entertaining? Yes.

The characters for the most part are entertaining and the acting for some of the actors have improved. Dylan Wang from Meteor Garden and that other dude who was the ML in Maiden Holmes have improved from their wooden performances. Both of those shows had these actors as the ML, I couldn't finish those shows. Esther Yu's fairy character is cute but was super annoying in the beginning. BF repellant annoying, nails on the chalkboard annoying.

The enjoyable parts:

The fairy and the devil have a body swap, it was entertaining to see the performance of the gender reversal. The fairy goes from the clueless naïve fairy to the cold hearted demon and vice versa. It was good they didn't drag it out through the whole show but it was entertaining for the first few episodes. The kissing for the soul swap wasn't necessary, too gratuitous, and was sort of stupid, would have been better if that was cut out.

The mortal realm was probably the most enjoyable part of the series; the storyline is really different from Ashes of Love but for both shows; the best parts were the time they spend in the mortal realm. It was hilarious with the hijinks due to the jealously, how clueless the SML was since he had no prior recollection of his immortal past, and how things just went completely wrong at each turn.

The gradual love which blossoms between the fairy and the devil. The chemistry between the leads is pretty good. Funny banter and face palm moments. They did a pretty good job with that, none of that instalove stupidity. There were some jokes cracked on the fairy's plain appearance and how it was no match for the Demon Lord. It seems to me the Demon King's looks are pretty plain too.

If one is looking to procrastinate from studying or whatever it is, this is a good enough show for that distraction.

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It takes a while to get into it but I came to like it

Initially I was not impressed when I watched the first five episodes; I'm not a big Xianxia fan. Since then this it has really grown on me. Patience was rewarded. The special effects are cheesy and the acting for some of the characters were so-so. I started this because I've seen the ML in Goodbye My Princess and the FL in Dreaming Back to Qing Dynasty. The realms in this fantasy are between the Immortals, Mortals, Beasts, and Void. The Immortals and Void are enemies.

The ML is an upright and uptight immortal prince destined to save the Immortal Kingdom, he was supposed to marry the FL's sister who is the SFL. The FL is a rebellious princess mortal meant to be married off as a Void bride. The SFL is the proper naive mortal princess who plays by the rules and she was meant to be married off as an Immortal bride. An identity switch happens during the marriage ceremony which leads the sisters to switch identities. The SML is a scheming outcast third prince in the Void royal family; he lies, cheats, and takes big risks to scheme his way with his family members and with the SFL.

I am probably in the minority on this but the SML and SFL's storyline really stood out in the episodes so far, it is a good pairing between the two. In most dramas I don't really get that into the SML and SFL's storyline but for some reason they took the torch in this drama for me. I really slugged it through the first 10 episodes because of that. You will get some slapstick laughs when it comes to the competition for the SFL's affection between the SML and his first brother. One funny scene is when his first brother tries to get the SFL to teach him her special technique to disable an opponent in a fight with her medical skills. It causes the SML to become jealous and the antics to payback his brother ensues. The mortal and beast realm storyline with the ML and FL was good and one of the best between them even though I found myself more drawn to the SML and SFL's story.

It's a light youth fantasy with some comedy, its worth a watch and I plan to finish this one.

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Watchable with Many Twists and Turns

If you are looking for a show to pass the time and keep you occupied without expecting a tight or somewhat believable plot, this is a show that fits the bill. The plot is crazy over the top and has a little bit of supernatural aspects to it. The main actresses and actors are talented so the acting is done well despite the storyline being so-so. There are several parts which keeps you guessing, its not entirely clear where some of the characters stand with the FLs and whether they can be trusted.

I came into this not expecting a love story or romance and so far that is the case. Nothing sweet or sappy is doled out for the viewer. It does have the standard good poor versus the bad rich theme etched into this. Its about the relationships of sisters and friends, absentee neglectful parents, socioeconomic discrepancies, and how far one is willing to go to break from the chains of poverty to become rich.

While the plot has its many holes, some of the scenes were well acted and writing for the dialog were well written, some examples of scenes which stood out:
- The confrontation of the reporter sister with her reporter nemesis on the sides of truth
- The Villain Heiress confronts the sister in prison and remarks you only thought of the gains from the 70 billion won but never thought of the pain from it

It's engaging enough for me to finish this and rooting for the FLs.

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