diff --git a/DEPLOY.md b/DEPLOY.md
index bc0ff92..02e135b 100644
--- a/DEPLOY.md
+++ b/DEPLOY.md
@@ -158,20 +158,20 @@ Override the base directory with `BGFILTER_WEIGHTS_DIR`. `models/` is gitignored
 
 ### Cross-check veto (optional, off by default in the service)
 
-The pipeline can run a second, high-resolution matting model
-(`ZhengPeng7/BiRefNet_HR-matting`, ~425 MB) as a "second opinion" that only clears
-background residue trapped between hair strands. In the **HTTP service it is OFF by
-default** and lazy-loaded, so you don't need this model unless you turn it on:
+The pipeline runs a second, high-resolution matting model
+(`ZhengPeng7/BiRefNet_HR-matting`, ~425 MB) as a "second opinion" that clears
+background residue trapped between hair strands. It is **ON by default** (both CLI
+and HTTP service) and, with reuse-as-seg, that same forward doubles as the
+segmentation mask on the birefnet backend — so it replaces the primary seg model
+rather than adding to it. **You must provision this model** (Option A or B above):
 
-- Enable service-wide with `BGFILTER_CROSS_CHECK=1`, or per request with the
-  `cross_check=true` form field.
-- ⚠️ **On an offline server (`HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1`) you must provision
-  `BiRefNet_HR-matting` first** (Option A or B above) — otherwise the first
-  cross-check request fails, because it cannot download the model at runtime.
-- It adds one extra 2048-px inference (~35 s/image on CPU), roughly doubling latency.
-- Note the config default (`configs/default.yaml`) has `cross_check.enabled: true`,
-  which the **CLI** honours; only the HTTP service forces it off unless
-  `BGFILTER_CROSS_CHECK=1`.
+- ⚠️ **On an offline server (`HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1`) it must be present before the
+  first request** — otherwise every default request fails, since it cannot
+  download the model at runtime.
+- Turn it off service-wide with `BGFILTER_CROSS_CHECK=0`, or override per request
+  with the `cross_check` form field (`true`/`false`).
+- The service preloads it at startup with the rest of the warm set; on the
+  birefnet backend the redundant primary segmenter is skipped.
 
 ### Downloading behind a firewall (CN networks)
 
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ redirect back to `huggingface.co`, which recent `huggingface_hub` rejects with
 | `BGFILTER_DEVICE` | `cpu` | Overrides **both** model and segmentation device (`cuda` for GPU) |
 | `BGFILTER_MAX_IMAGE_PIXELS` | `4194304` | Reject larger inputs with `413` (~4 MP) |
 | `BGFILTER_PRELOAD` | `1` | Load default models at startup (first request isn't cold) |
-| `BGFILTER_CROSS_CHECK` | `0` | Enable the cross-check veto (needs `BiRefNet_HR-matting`; ~2× latency) |
+| `BGFILTER_CROSS_CHECK` | config (`on`) | Force the cross-check veto on/off (`0` disables; needs `BiRefNet_HR-matting`) |
 | `BGFILTER_WEIGHTS_DIR` | `models` | Where local weight folders are looked up (Option B) |
 | `HF_HOME` | — | HF cache location (Option A) |
 | `HF_HUB_OFFLINE` / `TRANSFORMERS_OFFLINE` | — | Set to `1` in production once weights are cached |
diff --git a/DEPLOY_ZH.md b/DEPLOY_ZH.md
index 847544e..f93cfd0 100644
--- a/DEPLOY_ZH.md
+++ b/DEPLOY_ZH.md
@@ -147,18 +147,17 @@ hf download ZhengPeng7/BiRefNet_HR-matting       --local-dir models/BiRefNet_HR-
 
 用 `BGFILTER_WEIGHTS_DIR` 可改基目录。`models/` 已被 gitignore。
 
-### cross-check 否决（可选，服务里默认关闭）
+### cross-check 否决（默认开启）
 
-管线可以再跑一个高分辨率 matting 模型（`ZhengPeng7/BiRefNet_HR-matting`，约 425 MB）
-作为"第二意见"，专门清理发丝间残留的背景色。在 **HTTP 服务里默认是关的**、且懒加载，
-所以不开启就不需要这个模型：
+管线会再跑一个高分辨率 matting 模型（`ZhengPeng7/BiRefNet_HR-matting`，约 425 MB）
+作为"第二意见"，清理发丝间残留的背景色。**CLI 和 HTTP 服务都默认开启**，而且开了
+reuse-as-seg 之后，在 birefnet 后端这同一次前向还兼作分割掩码——它是**替换**了 primary
+分割模型，而不是额外叠加。因此**必须备好这个模型**（上面方案 A 或 B）：
 
-- 服务级开启：`BGFILTER_CROSS_CHECK=1`；或按请求：表单字段 `cross_check=true`。
-- ⚠️ **离线服务器（`HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1`）必须先备好 `BiRefNet_HR-matting`**（上面方案 A 或 B），
-  否则第一个 cross-check 请求会失败——运行时它无法联网下载模型。
-- 每张图多一次 2048 分辨率推理（CPU 上约 35s/张），延迟大约翻倍。
-- 注意：配置默认（`configs/default.yaml`）里 `cross_check.enabled: true`，**CLI 会遵循它**；
-  只有 HTTP 服务强制关闭，除非设了 `BGFILTER_CROSS_CHECK=1`。
+- ⚠️ **离线服务器（`HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1`）必须在第一个请求前就备好它**，否则每个默认请求都会
+  失败——运行时它无法联网下载模型。
+- 服务级关闭：`BGFILTER_CROSS_CHECK=0`；或按请求覆盖：表单字段 `cross_check`（`true`/`false`）。
+- 服务启动时会随暖机集一起预载它；在 birefnet 后端，冗余的 primary 分割模型会被跳过。
 
 ### 墙内下载（国内网络）
 
@@ -182,7 +181,7 @@ export HF_HUB_DISABLE_XET=1                 # 这些 repo 是 Xet 存储；强
 | `BGFILTER_DEVICE` | `cpu` | 同时覆盖 model 和 segmentation 的 device（GPU 用 `cuda`）|
 | `BGFILTER_MAX_IMAGE_PIXELS` | `4194304` | 超过则返回 `413`（约 4 MP）|
 | `BGFILTER_PRELOAD` | `1` | 启动时预加载默认模型（首个请求不用冷加载）|
-| `BGFILTER_CROSS_CHECK` | `0` | 启用 cross-check 否决（需 `BiRefNet_HR-matting`；延迟约 ×2）|
+| `BGFILTER_CROSS_CHECK` | 配置（`on`）| 强制开/关 cross-check 否决（`0` 关闭；需 `BiRefNet_HR-matting`）|
 | `BGFILTER_WEIGHTS_DIR` | `models` | 本地权重文件夹的查找目录（方案 B）|
 | `HF_HOME` | — | HF 缓存位置（方案 A）|
 | `HF_HUB_OFFLINE` / `TRANSFORMERS_OFFLINE` | — | 权重缓存好后，生产设为 `1` |
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4d01f9f..94efd49 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -217,13 +217,13 @@ Config comes from `BGFILTER_CONFIG` (defaults to `configs/default.yaml` when pre
 caps input size (default ~4MP → `413`); `BGFILTER_PRELOAD=1` loads the default models at
 startup. Run a single worker (`--workers 1`) — each worker loads its own copy of the models.
 
-Unlike the CLI, the service defaults the **cross-model veto to off** — it adds one
-extra large-model inference (~35 s/image on CPU, 14 s → 49 s total). Enable it
-per request with the `cross_check` form field, or flip the service default with
-`BGFILTER_CROSS_CHECK=1` (worth it on GPU or when hair-gap residue matters more
-than latency); `/healthz` reports the default as `crossCheck`. The cross-check
-model is lazy-loaded: it is never preloaded at startup, so the first request that
-enables it also pays the one-time model load (~1 GB) on top of the inference.
+Like the CLI, the service runs the **cross-model veto by default** (config
+default: on). With reuse-as-seg it replaces the primary seg forward rather than
+adding to it, so it is not the latency hit it once was; its HR-matting model is
+preloaded with the rest of the warm set (and, on the birefnet backend, the now-
+redundant primary segmenter is skipped at startup). Set `BGFILTER_CROSS_CHECK=0`
+to turn it off service-wide, or use the per-request `cross_check` form field to
+override either way; `/healthz` reports the default as `crossCheck`.
 
 ## Quality Check
 
diff --git a/app.py b/app.py
index d1b8ff5..fece2f1 100644
--- a/app.py
+++ b/app.py
@@ -62,12 +62,14 @@ def _build_settings():
     if device:
         # Covers both settings.model.device and settings.segmentation.device.
         settings = override_settings(settings, device=device)
-    # The cross-model veto adds one extra large-model inference (~35 s/image on
-    # CPU), so the service defaults it OFF regardless of the config default;
-    # opt back in with BGFILTER_CROSS_CHECK=1. Other cross_check params (model,
-    # thresholds) still come from the config.
-    cross_check = os.environ.get("BGFILTER_CROSS_CHECK", "0").strip().lower() in ("1", "true", "yes", "on")
-    settings = override_settings(settings, cross_check=cross_check)
+    # The cross-model veto is default behaviour (config default: on). With
+    # reuse-as-seg it replaces the primary seg forward rather than adding to it,
+    # so the earlier CPU-cost concern no longer applies. BGFILTER_CROSS_CHECK
+    # can still force it either way; unset = honour the config.
+    cc_env = os.environ.get("BGFILTER_CROSS_CHECK")
+    if cc_env is not None and cc_env.strip() != "":
+        cross_check = cc_env.strip().lower() in ("1", "true", "yes", "on")
+        settings = override_settings(settings, cross_check=cross_check)
     return settings
 
 
diff --git a/bgfilter/service.py b/bgfilter/service.py
index 20c5364..1ce15df 100644
--- a/bgfilter/service.py
+++ b/bgfilter/service.py
@@ -38,10 +38,20 @@ class PipelineManager:
         if preload:
             if base_settings.model.matting_method == "vitmatte":
                 self._get_runner()
-            if base_settings.segmentation.enabled:
+            # Cross-check is default behaviour, so its HR-matting model is part of
+            # the warm set. With reuse-as-seg on the birefnet backend that same
+            # forward also serves as the seg mask, so the primary segmenter is
+            # never used on the default path -- only preload it when reuse won't
+            # cover segmentation (reuse off, or a non-birefnet default backend).
+            if base_settings.cross_check.enabled:
+                self._get_cross_checker()
+            reuse_covers_seg = (
+                base_settings.cross_check.enabled
+                and base_settings.cross_check.reuse_as_seg
+                and base_settings.segmentation.backend == "birefnet"
+            )
+            if base_settings.segmentation.enabled and not reuse_covers_seg:
                 self._get_segmenter(base_settings.segmentation.backend)
-            # The cross-check model is deliberately NOT preloaded: it is opt-in
-            # per request, so the first request that enables it pays the load.
 
     @property
     def default_seg_model(self) -> str: