Chapter 124: I Am Just Like a Chicken Leg

The little one’s crying was exceptionally loud. He had taken a fall, hitting his head hard against the ground, and a large bump immediately rose on his forehead.

Hearing the commotion, Fu Juxing raised his head and looked over. He did not move, remaining seated in his chair, quietly watching the child sit there crying and making a fuss. The other parents present glanced sideways, but no one dared to step forward and speak up.

Instead, a little girl of seven or eight years old ran over, helped him up, crouched down to wipe his tears, and asked, "Little brother, where is your mother?"

The little one didn't answer.

The little girl asked again, "Then where is your father?"

The little one rubbed his eyes, turned his head, and spotted his own father instantly. Overwhelmed by a sudden surge of grievance, he ran toward Fu Juxing, threw himself onto him, opened his arms, and wailed for a hug.

Fu Juxing did not move; he only reached out to press the child's small head. "Before you went to play, what did I tell you?"

The little one couldn't hear anything; he only wanted a hug, and his head was throbbing with pain. He closed his eyes, wrapping his hands and legs around Fu Juxing.

"I told you not to fall, and that if you fall, no one will pick you up..."

Clearly, his lecturing was completely useless. For a child throwing a tantrum, all words are meaningless; perhaps a piece of candy is far more practical.

The little girl from earlier ran over, cupping a handful of colorful candies, and stepped right up to the little one. "Little brother, don't cry! Look at what this is! Such pretty little candy babies."

The little one stopped crying through his tears and instantly began to quiet down. His eyes fixed on the candy in the girl's hand, and he reached out to grab it, only to be stopped by a stern word from Fu Juxing.

His small hand froze, his fingers timidly brushing against the candy wrapper. He pouted, looked at the little girl, then turned to look at Fu Juxing, before abruptly covering his face with his hands and starting to cry all over again.

The little girl said, "Mister, don't worry, these are candies specially made for children, it's fine. Just let him have one. He just fell, it must hurt a lot, please let him eat it."

Fu Juxing was unappreciative. "No need. If he wants to cry, let him cry for a while. If you give him candy now, can you give him candy forever?"

The little girl paused, clearly failing to grasp the deeper meaning behind his words. She nodded and said, "As long as I have them, I will share them with my little brother." Her bright eyes looked at Fu Juxing with absolute sincerity. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she peeled a candy and held it out right in front of his lips. "Mister, eat this quickly."

Fu Juxing opened his mouth to refuse, but before he could utter a single word, the little girl directly shoved the candy into his mouth.

Afterward, the little girl brought the colorful candy wrapper right back to the little one. "Little brother, look."

Even without the candy, the wrapper would do.

The little one reached out, his tiny fingers pinching the candy wrapper, and a happy smile broke across his face immediately.

By this time, Fu Juxing hadn't said a single word, and the little one had already wandered off to play with the little girl.

The candy tasted like strawberries.

Aunt Rong, having finished her grocery shopping, happened to walk past and saw Fu Juxing sitting there all by himself. Meanwhile, Fu Linsheng was playing on the slide with a pretty little girl, having the time of his life.

"Young Master."

Fu Juxing snapped out of his daze, raised his eyes, and remained silent for a few seconds before giving a faint response. "Call him back."

"Xiaobao is having so much fun, let him play a little longer. It's still early anyway," Aunt Rong said, sitting down beside him. She looked over at Fu Linsheng and smiled, "Oh my, our Xiaobao is truly handsome, he stands out even more in a crowd of children."

To be honest, Fu Linsheng looked quite a bit like Lin Wanbai when she was a child. If he had just a bit more hair, they would probably look identical.

Aunt Rong had kept these words to herself all this time. But whenever she caught Fu Juxing staring blankly at Xiaobao, she knew he must be thinking the exact same thing.

As dusk fell, the little girl had to go home, and the little one was finally worn out from playing. After exchanging goodbyes, Fu Juxing placed him into the stroller, and Aunt Rong hurried back ahead of them to prepare dinner.

Pushing the stroller with one hand and leaning on a walking cane with the other, Fu Juxing walked slowly back. "Did you have fun?"

The little one: "Fun."

"Do you want to come back tomorrow?"

"Want."

Fu Juxing: "We are not coming tomorrow."

The little one replied, "Mm, jie jie pretty."

"What?"

"Jie jie pretty, I like."

Fu Juxing lowered his gaze to look at him. The little one was swinging his short legs, immensely pleased with himself.

Entering the building and waiting for the elevator, they ran into an upstairs neighbor who was holding a toddler with one hand while scrolling on his phone with the other. The little one looked up at the child resting on the father's shoulder, then looked at Fu Juxing, and finally glanced down at Fu Juxing's legs.

Back at home, Fu Juxing took off his shoes. The little one crouched beside him and gently patted Fu Juxing's injured foot with his tiny hand. "Daddy, blow-blow."

With that, he lowered his head and blew gently on his foot.

Fu Juxing was slightly stunned, standing frozen in place.

Aunt Rong came out of the kitchen upon hearing the movement and happened to catch this scene. Her eyes turned red with sudden joy, and with a smile, she quietly retreated back into the kitchen.

Fu Juxing bent down, grabbed the little one by the collar, lifted him up with one hand, and then shifted him to a secure hold in his other arm. He changed his shoes, picked up his cane, walked slowly to the living room, and sat down on the sofa.

The moment he was set down, the little one scrambled off his lap and dashed toward the kitchen, guided by the delicious aroma.

Having played for the better part of the day, his little tummy was long empty, and he was dying of thirst.

Aunt Rong had already prepared food. She made him wash his hands first, gave him water to drink, and then settled him into his designated seat to eat.

She brewed a fresh cup of tea and brought it over to Fu Juxing, thoughtfully turning on the television for him.

It was rare for him to take the child out like this. She had no idea what had inspired such a good mood today, but regardless, it could be considered a good start.

Fu Juxing took a sip of tea. His phone rang. He leisurely set the tea cup down, took out his phone, glanced at the screen, and answered.

"Speak."

"Lu Peng's forces have been completely uprooted. He is currently on the run and his whereabouts are unknown."

"Cut weeds without eradicating the roots, and the spring breeze will cause them to grow again."

"Understood. Tianhe and Liting remain in the same stalemate as before. Two days ago, Zuo Yushan met in secret with Liting. The specific details of their discussion are unknown as neither side leaked any news, only that a truce has been called. I suspect there might be issues."

"Mm." The biggest issue would be the two of them turning from enemies into allies to present a united front.

"Things are peaceful over at Chaosheng. Mr. Liang still has some tricks up his sleeve and managed to smooth over all the mess Liang Xi previously created. Mr. Liang is kind-hearted and intends to give Liang Xi another chance. As for the Lin family, there are no major movements; Lin Zhouye is overwhelmed with his own affairs and likely has no energy to meddle elsewhere. However, there is a relatively urgent matter."

"What is it?"

"Your grandfather, Elder Fu, is critically ill and wishes to see you."

"There's no need for a meeting. Once he's gone, arrange a simple burial. Bury him alongside Jiang Shuzhi."

The most important matter had not yet been reported.

The person on the other end of the line fell silent for a moment before saying, "Miss Lin's trail went cold the moment she reached Macau. I've sent many people to search, scouring almost the entirety of Macau, but we simply couldn't find her."

Fu Juxing fell silent. He saw Fu Linsheng walking toward him from the kitchen, holding a bowl, his cheeks bulging as if stuffed with food.

Fu Juxing: "It doesn't matter. No matter where she has gone, sooner or later she will have to return. That's all for now, everything else remains as usual. Have Yu Zhi and Ke Nian not completed their tasks yet?"

"No news as of yet."

"Then stall for a bit longer. Once the two of them complete their missions, Liting and the Tianhe gang can be taken down together, along with the Yuan family of Macau."

"Understood."

Fu Juxing: "As for news regarding Xiaobai, focus the investigation on the Yuan family."

"Understood."

After hanging up, Fu Linsheng ran right up to Fu Juxing and handed over his small bowl. Inside were his favorite egg whites and a chicken leg.

He pointed a chubby little finger at the chicken leg. "Daddy, eat."

"I love you."

These three sudden words made Fu Juxing freeze. In those clear, distinct black-and-white eyes, his own reflection was mirrored in the dark pupils. Fu Linsheng beamed with a wide smile, the large bump on his forehead standing out prominently.

He didn't touch the chicken leg. Instead, he pulled up a small chair for the little one, placed it in front of the coffee table so he could gnaw on his drumstick, and then stood up and walked toward the kitchen.

"Did you teach him that?"

Aunt Rong had just finished preparing the last dish. She smiled and said, "Yes, I taught him twice and he picked it up, his pronunciation is quite clear. Whether this child takes after you or..." She paused slightly, then continued, "Anyway, he's very smart. Don't let his current stumbling speech fool you, he understands no less than other children. He's quite sharp."

"Children really grow up fast. I still remember when he was just this tiny thing, placed in an incubator with tubes running all over his body, hanging on by a thread. Look at him now, isn't he growing up quite well? There's no difference from anyone else. He suffered enough hardships when he first came into this world, so he should have fewer hardships to endure from now on, right?"

Fu Juxing: "Don't teach him these things in the future. I don't like it."

"Got it."

Just as her voice trailed off, Fu Linsheng's childish voice drifted in from outside: "I love you! Big chicken leg!"

Fu Juxing raised an eyebrow, his face darkening as he looked at Aunt Rong. "I'm on the same level as a chicken leg."

Aunt Rong burst into laughter. "Out of the mouths of babes."

From then on, Fu Linsheng would say "I love you" to anything and everything. He told the little rubber duck he bathed with that he loved it, told his ball he loved it, and even told a chair that he loved it.

Hearing those three phrases constantly, Fu Juxing developed a headache; it was annoying to the extreme.

The next day, after waking up from his afternoon nap, Fu Linsheng made a fuss about going out to play. He was still clutching the candy wrapper the little girl had given him, rubbing the colors completely off of it.

Aunt Rong wasn't going out today and had originally planned to take him out. Since Fu Juxing wouldn't allow it, she had no choice but to soothe him.

Yet the little one insisted on going out, persistently pulling Aunt Rong toward the door. When they wouldn't go, he dropped flat onto the floor and threw a continuous tantrum.

Fu Juxing remained unmoved. Aunt Rong, heartbroken for the child, walked over to negotiate with him. "Just let him go. I'll take him out for an hour and we'll be right back. You can't just keep a toddler cooped up indoors."

"If you indulge him like this, he really won't be manageable anymore. Aunt Rong, you don't need to come starting tomorrow."

Aunt Rong was startled. "Wh—why?"

"I don't want him to grow dependent on anyone."

Aunt Rong wanted to say something else, but Fu Juxing cut her off completely. "No need to say it, I've already made up my decision. I originally only hired you to look after him for two months, and today marks exactly two months. I've already made arrangements for me to take Fu Linsheng to Macau tomorrow. A new nanny will take over then, so you don't need to worry. Return to your hometown in peace."

Aunt Rong bit her lip and turned her head to look at Xiaobao, who was still lying on the floor. Her eyes were filled with reluctance, and her heart ached terribly.

She had no children of her own, and most of her family members had passed away. Returning to her hometown meant living as a lonely elderly woman. She had treated Fu Juxing like her own son and Fu Linsheng like her own grandson, so being sent away now naturally filled her with sorrow.

Yet there was nothing she could do; she was merely a hired helper.

She nodded. "Understood."

...

Upon arriving in Hong Kong, Lin Wanbai first checked into a hotel to settle in.

Her appointment with the client was for one o'clock. Since they had arrived early that morning after lunch, they still had some free time to look around.

Strict as Ji Jie usually was, she turned out to be an absolute shopaholic. Upon arrival, she didn't even bother returning to the hotel first, heading straight for the shopping mall instead. When Lin Wanbai and Ye Qiu met up with her, she had already purchased a mountain of items and showed no intention of stopping.

After the three of them converged, they headed to the third-floor women's apparel section to browse for clothes.

As a man accompanying women on a shopping trip, Lin Wanbai's only role was to watch.

She sat on a sofa drinking tea while the two women picked out a pile of clothes and began trying them on one by one. To curb her own urges, Lin Wanbai lowered her head to play on her phone, completely ignoring the two of them.

With nothing better to do, she started searching for information about herself online to see if any residual news was still floating around.

While she was browsing, more people entered the shop. Hearing the noise, she glanced over from the corner of her eye without paying much attention.

The two newcomers walked in, browsing at their leisure while chatting.

"I feel like Liting's momentum is looking a bit off. I heard people in several of his territories have rebelled, and his business is taking hits. Hasn't he been frequenting your place lately? Haven't you heard anything at all?"

"Why on earth did you ask me out shopping today? So you could sound me out."

"What sounding out? We're family; if there's an issue, we need to talk about it. Your career is smooth sailing right now and you've got recognition. If he really can't be relied upon anymore, then we need to..."

"Let's not talk about this. Look at the clothes instead—didn't you come to accompany me shopping? Just focus on the clothes." Lin瑶 picked up a garment. "This one matches you quite well, try it."

Seeing her indifferent attitude, Zhou Lin felt her anger flare up. "Just what do you want?"

"I just want to have a simple shopping trip." Lin Yao shoved the clothes into Zhou Lin's arms and walked over to sit on the sofa. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a man sitting nearby. At first glance, she was struck by his striking good looks; upon a second look, she found him vaguely familiar.

After a third look, her gaze remained fixed. Then, her eyes swept across the man's phone screen, catching a headline that prominently featured the three characters: Lin Wanbai.

She couldn't help raising an eyebrow. Quietly rising to her feet, she moved over to the man's side. Just as she sat down, he put his phone away, but she had already seen clearly enough—this person was actually searching for information on Lin Wanbai.

Their eyes met. In that instant, Lin Yao felt as though she were looking right at Lin Wanbai.

Startled, Lin Wanbai quickly maintained a polished, polite smile. "Is there something I can help you with, Miss?"

Lin Yao snapped back to her senses, offering a polite smile. "Not really. I just thought you looked rather familiar, as if we'd met somewhere before."

Hitting on someone?

"Is that so? In my memory, I don't believe I've ever met you."

Lin Yao smiled. "Then do you know Lin Wanbai?"

At these words, Lin Wanbai froze slightly, her expression shifting for a split second. She harbored immediate suspicions toward this woman—how could she possibly know her?

"Never heard of her. Why do you ask?"

"Ah, I accidentally caught a glimpse of what was on your phone just now, so I assumed you knew her."

Lin Wanbai arched an eyebrow slightly. "You know her?"

"I think you look a lot like her, especially your eyes. To be honest, I almost wondered if you were her in disguise as a man."

Lin Wanbai burst into laughter, making it sound entirely natural. "You're not the first person to say that. I certainly don't know Lin Wanbai personally, but I am a fan of hers. I've always followed her Weibo. My ex-girlfriend also said I looked a bit like her—like a male version of Lin Wanbai. She even joked that if I wore a wig and put on some makeup, I could pass for the real deal."

Lin Wanbai spun these falsehoods without even blinking, smiling broadly as she touched her own face. "Do I really look that much alike? I can't see it myself. Are you a fan of Lin Wanbai too?"

Before Lin瑶 could reply, Zhou Lin interrupted, pulling Lin瑶 aside. "What are you doing, making eyes at some pretty boy? If Liting finds out, he'll beat you to death."

"Liting doesn't hit women, does he?"

"Doesn't hit them? Are you genuinely clueless or just playing dumb with me? Didn't that guy who cheated on him get beaten to death and tossed into the sea to feed the fish? Didn't you know about that?"

"Mom, I notice you seem to know everything. Who on earth are you hearing these things from?"

"Look at where your mother works—private hospitals are full of gossip about the wealthy. Liting is the richest man in Hong Kong, there are endless rumors about him." Zhou Lin glanced toward Lin Wanbai's direction. "Who is that person anyway? Why on earth were you saying so much to him?"

"I just thought he looked very familiar, and I noticed he was searching for information on Lin Wanbai, so out of curiosity I said a few words."

"Lin Wanbai? Isn't Lin Wanbai dead?"

"Haven't they still not found her body? Until there's a body, we might as well assume she's not dead."

Lin Wanbai continued looking at her phone, though her ears were pricked, listening carefully to their conversation.

Lin Yao did not come back to chat with her again. After browsing the store once more with Zhou Lin, she left for elsewhere.

Lin Wanbai stood up and walked over to Ye Qiu's side. "Help me run a background check on that woman."

Ye Qiu glanced over at the woman who had just entered the shop earlier.

"Send her photo to my WeChat, I'll check it out."

"Mm, and find out what kind of connection she might have to me."

"OK."

After the three of them finished shopping and had lunch, they headed to the scheduled teahouse.

At ten past one, the client finally arrived. To Lin Wanbai's surprise, she ran into Lin Yao once more.

Lin Yao looked equally surprised to encounter her again and smiled. "We meet again."

Their client happened to be in the same dance troupe as Lin Yao and was retiring from the troupe to get married. The two had a good relationship and had arranged to have lunch together, taking the opportunity to have Lin Yao give a second opinion on the housing design plans.

"You two know each other?"

Lin Yao explained, "We bumped into each other while shopping earlier. I thought he looked remarkably like my older sister, so I went over and said a few words."

"Lin Wanbai is your older sister?"

"That's right." Lin Yao nodded. "We two sisters don't look alike at all."

Lin Wanbai felt a surge of excitement, which she forcefully suppressed as she smiled and said, "Indeed, you don't look much alike. Are you full sisters?"

"Half-sisters." She answered with complete nonchalance. "Regrettably, I don't have much to do with her nowadays. Otherwise, I'd really bring you over to meet her—if the two of you stood side by side, you'd look like twins. Is there any chance you might actually be a long-lost young master of the Lin family?" Lin Yao joked.

"Since we already know each other, that makes things even better. Does that mean I can make demands without holding back?"

Lin Yao retorted, "Shouldn't it be that people who *don't* know each other can make demands without holding back?"

The subsequent discussion went quite smoothly. The design proposal presented by Lin Wanbai passed muster, praised as being fully aligned with their wishes, requiring not a single revision.

Before parting ways, Lin Wanbai proactively asked for Lin Yao's contact information.

Lin Yao raised an eyebrow, gave her a head-to-toe assessment, and then generously handed over her phone number.

After separating from her friend, Lin Yao headed straight home.

Liting was returning home for dinner tonight, so she needed to get back early. Liting's temper had been exceptionally foul lately; the slightest annoyance would trigger his rage, and she needed to be on her best behavior to avoid walking into the line of fire.

Upon reaching home, she took a shower and then helped the housekeeper prepare dinner.

The dishes were quite ordinary for home-cooking. Since only the two of them were eating, there were just three dishes—one meat, one vegetable, and a soup. With his numerous business banquets lately, he had eaten more than enough heavy, greasy meals and preferred lighter fare when returning home.

By the time the cooking was finished, it was nearly six-thirty. When seven o'clock rolled around and he still hadn't arrived, Lin Yao checked the time, feeling a growing sense of apprehension.

She was somewhat aware of Liting's recent situation; he was indeed overwhelmed. But given Liting's character, what storms hadn't he weathered? Until the very last moment, the outcome remained unknown.

At half-past seven, he still hadn't arrived. Lin Yao sent a text message to inquire. Ten-odd minutes later, he replied: [Eat first, don't wait for me.]

After pondering for a moment, Lin Yao decided to wait a little longer.

She opened her photo gallery, which contained two candid shots she had covertly taken of Lin Qin. She zoomed in and scrutinized them closely. They really did look alike, yet upon closer observation, they also seemed different. Besides, the person was a man—Lin Wanbai couldn't possibly have turned into a man, could she?

People sharing resemblances was a completely normal occurrence.

Just as she was pondering this, a WeChat friend request popped up. She raised an eyebrow, tapped to preview it first, and after a moment of hesitation, accepted the request.

She opened the profile, which was bare of any information, and clicked into the chat interface, which indicated that the other party was typing.

After waiting for quite a while, the other party only sent a single emoji.

She chuckled softly and replied with a question mark.

After taking a shower, Lin Wanbai sat cross-legged on her bed, staring down at her phone. Truth be told, she desperately wanted to reveal her identity. Regardless of everything else, a half-sister still counted as family, right? She just had no idea what their relationship was actually like.

Thinking of the television dramas she had watched, half-sisters usually turned out to be the villains.

With that thought, the impulse to reveal herself vanished completely.

[Thanks for accepting. Considering I'm a fan of Lin Wanbai, if you ever have any business projects, remember to throw them my way.] Followed by a handshake emoji.

Lin Yao: [Why do you like my sister?]

That was genuinely a rather difficult question to answer. After pondering for a moment, Lin Wanbai replied: [I like her looks.] The safest possible answer.

Lin Yao: [So superficial? You look like a deep, thoughtful person—people in design shouldn't be that shallow.]

Lin Wanbai was left speechless: [But she really is good-looking.]

Lin Yao: [So as long as someone looks good, you don't care even if they're covered in scandals?]

Lin Wanbai had originally intended to cut the conversation short, but this sentence instantly piqued her interest. It looked like she might actually be able to extract some useful information out of her, and judging by that comment alone, the sisters' relationship was likely terrible.

They were probably in a state of outright hostility.

[As her sister, shouldn't you trust her character?]

After a long pause, Lin Yao finally replied: [You men are all the same, completely blinded by beauty.]

She replied with a wry-smile emoji and wrote: [I just feel that someone like her couldn't possibly do those kinds of things.]

Lin Yao: [You people only look at the surface. Whatever, I'm not talking to you anymore, boring.]

True to her word, she didn't reply again after that.

Lin Wanbai had no idea what to make of this reaction, but it wasn't convenient for her to press further, leaving her feeling utterly restless. Right on cue, Fu Yanchuan's call came through—truly arriving at the most opportune moment.

She answered, using her lowered male voice: "Mr. Fu."

"You ran into Lin Yao?"

Ji Jie's mouth was fast indeed.

Lin Wanbai: "Yes, I was just about to call and tell you. She said she's my half-sister? Is that true?"

"She's Liting's woman now, so keep your distance. She didn't recognize you, did she?"

Lin Wanbai: "No, she didn't. But she thought I looked very familiar. Fortunately, I acted the part well, otherwise she definitely would have seen right through me."

Fu Yanchuan: "You even asked for her contact info?"

Lin Wanbai stuck out her tongue and kept silent.

Fu Yanchuan: "You added her on WeChat?"

Silence implied confirmation. Total quiet hung over the other end of the line.

After a good while, Lin Wanbai spoke in a small voice: "I thought she was family, but I didn't reveal my identity to her. She doesn't know who I am, she just thinks I'm a fan of Lin Wanbai."

"Watch yourself."

"Got it."

Hanging up the phone, Lin Wanbai let out a slight sigh of relief and fell back to sleep.

The following day, after inspecting the site, they returned to Macau.

Upon returning, Lin Wanbai moved into an apartment near the company. Ji Jie even provided her with a Mercedes-Benz, and a couple of days later, she officially started working at the Yuan family enterprise.

Fu Yanchuan had arranged a total of six assistants within the company, each with their own distinct roles and responsibilities.

Lin Wanbai was put in charge of sales, which happened to be the weakest sector for the Yuan family. The core of the Yuan family's business was the gaming industry, with both of Macau's major casinos falling under their banner.

However, half a year prior, a traitor within the family had nearly allowed outsiders to usurp control. Fortunately, Fu Yanchuan had managed to turn the tide at the last moment; although heavily battered, the family and its assets were preserved.

Sales could foster rapid, all-around growth, and Fu Yanchuan undoubtedly had a specific purpose in placing her in this department.

He wanted her to achieve the fastest possible growth in the shortest amount of time.

No wonder he had her disguise herself as a man. Women in sales inevitably suffered certain disadvantages, whereas men had a relatively easier time.

Although the Yuan family had made many aggressive moves over the past two years, their primary profits still came from gambling, while most other sectors operated at a loss.

After reviewing the performance metrics submitted by the sales department over the past two years, Lin Wanbai found them dismal, yielding virtually no profits.

Furthermore, the sales department had very few personnel, most of whom were veteran employees—effectively making it a retirement home department.

As for the department manager, he had previously been the top sales champion at another company and was poached with a high salary. Yet clever housewives struggle to cook without rice; even a sales champion couldn't fix structural issues, and he had simply devolved into part of the retirement brigade, happily enjoying the ease instead.

When the leader slackens off, the subordinates lose all remaining motivation.

How could performance numbers possibly improve under those conditions?

Entrusting such a formidable task to her was truly an ultimate test for Fu Yanchuan to set. The crucial part was that she had never worked in sales before; she had originally expected him to assign her to the design department, never imagining she would be dumped into sales instead.

For the next several days, Lin Wanbai threw herself heart and soul into her work. Between drawing blueprints and establishing connections, she was so rushed off her feet that she had zero downtime to dwell on anything else.

Consequently, her pursuit of recovering her lost memories was temporarily shelved.