def test_9(): assert pairStar("abbba") == "ab*b*ba"
def test_6(): assert pairStar("") == ""
def test_7(): assert pairStar("noadjacent") == "noadjacent"
def test_5(): assert pairStar("a") == "a"
def test_4(): assert pairStar("aa") == "a*a"
def test_3(): assert pairStar("aaab") == "a*a*ab"
def test_1(): assert pairStar("xxyy") == "x*xy*y"
def test_0(): assert pairStar("hello") == "hel*lo"