The autonomous driving technology in this world was already quite advanced, though its sensitivity was still a bit inferior compared to manual operation. However, Meng Feixuan’s control was still very impressive. Xie Ran rested one hand on the steering wheel, sitting relaxed as he let Meng Feixuan control the car.

As he drove, Meng Feixuan reported the situation: “Sir has stopped playing games, but there was still no sign of separation from the consciousness atomic group…”

By now, Xie Dufang had become an untouchable legendary figure in Bright Moon River Lake. Whenever he logged in, a large crowd would gather to watch. Xie Ran, though used to attention, still found it unbearable to have a group of people constantly tailing him, secretly trying to take photos with him.

This made Meng Feixuan even more annoyed. Though he lacked tact, he still couldn’t go over certain lines with so many people watching—no more reviewing indecent content with his master.

In short, the gaming experience was terrible.

Besides, they had basically reached the end of the game. Xie Ran simply quit again. What was strange, however, was that the original host’s consciousness atomic group still showed no sign of separating.

Meng Feixuan fell into deep thought: “Could it be that the new drama I downloaded isn’t working either? Maybe his obsession wasn’t actually related to the game?”

Xie Ran: “…” His system still hadn’t given up on learning through dramas.

Xie Ran mused: “It might’ve started because of the game, but doesn’t necessarily need to be resolved in the game.”

Just as he spoke, Meng Feixuan’s tone suddenly tensed: “Sir, there’s a car following us!”

Xie Ran glanced at the rearview mirror. Not far behind them, a sports car was tailing them. His eyes darkened slightly: “Who’s driving it?”

Xie Ran recognized the car. In the original host’s memory, it was this very car that had crashed into him during his meetup with Kuang Jingning, resulting in his paralysis.

Meng Feixuan said: “Hold on, I’ll hack into the opponent’s driving system to check.”

But just as Meng Feixuan started to act, the car’s front suddenly twisted as if it had lost control, then abruptly charged toward Xie Ran’s car.

Xie Ran already had a good idea of what was happening: “It’s those two people from earlier.”

In the original host’s memory, after the car accident, he passed out. By the time he woke up and tried to investigate, the scene had already been cleaned up. The person who confessed to the crime was an unfamiliar, honest-looking man. At the time, the original host was already in utter despair, with neither the will nor energy to pursue the matter thoroughly, and it ended in a rushed resolution.

It wasn’t until many years later that he realized many things about the accident didn’t add up. For instance, the car that hit him was clearly an expensive sports car, but the man who took the blame came from a very average family.

But by then, it was already too late to reinvestigate.

At this moment, however, Xie Ran had his answer.

Inside the sports car, Kuang Jingning’s face changed dramatically as he tried to stop Tan Yunguang: “Are you insane? What are you doing?!”

Earlier, Tan Yunguang had provoked Xie Ran recklessly and ended up humiliated. After Xie Ran left, Kuang Jingning, also infuriated, dragged Tan Yunguang into the car, intending to leave the scene of the conflict.

Unexpectedly, Tan Yunguang had gone completely mad, tailing Xie Ran’s car like a maniac.

“You wanted to chase after Xie Dufang, right? I’m helping you!” Tan Yunguang’s eyes were bloodshot. He suddenly floored the accelerator, aiming to crash into Xie Ran’s car.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Kuang Jingning’s eyes filled with fear as he grabbed Tan Yunguang’s hand. But Tan Yunguang had gone completely berserk, gripping the steering wheel tightly, refusing to let go.

There were many cars on the road. To their left was a constant stream of traffic, to the right, a guardrail for the elevated highway. Xie Ran’s car had no room to evade. The two cars were drawing dangerously close, seemingly moments away from a collision.

“Die!” Tan Yunguang let out a manic laugh. Then suddenly, as if someone had hijacked the steering wheel, which Kuang Jingning had failed to budge, it sharply turned to the side.

Bang— The sports car slammed violently into the elevated guardrail.

“Ah, just a bit too late,” Meng Feixuan said guiltily. When he hacked into Tan Yunguang’s system, the two cars were already too close. There was no time to stop him—only just enough to jerk the wheel.

“It wasn’t your fault. It’s human nature,” Xie Ran said. In the code of artificial intelligence, there were rules that prohibited harm to humans. That’s why Meng Feixuan felt guilty. Xie Ran didn’t care about the outcome of Kuang Jingning and Tan Yunguang—whatever happened to them, they brought it on themselves. But if they had still been in the game, he might’ve wanted to pat Meng Feixuan’s head: “Call them an ambulance.”

“Already did,” Meng Feixuan replied, then let out a surprised “Huh.” “Sir, your consciousness atomic group and that of this world’s Xie Ran have started to separate.”

Xie Ran gave a soft “Mm.” He more or less understood why, so he wasn’t surprised. He gently brushed his hand across the autopilot panel: “See you in the next world.”

The original host’s consciousness gradually became clear, until he regained control of his body. He knew that the Xie Ran and Meng Feixuan from another world had already left.

He looked at his healthy, unharmed body and let out a soft, private sigh: “Thank you.”

That night, Yin Luoyan called him in shock, telling him that Kuang Jingning and Tan Yunguang had been in a car accident and were both seriously injured, possibly left permanently disabled.

The original host didn’t feel much. He only responded coldly: “Nothing to do with me.”

In the original timeline, he had been paralyzed for ten years, eventually dragging Kuang Jingning down with him in mutual destruction. His love for Kuang Jingning had long been exhausted. All he had ever wanted was to reclaim his life—a life without Kuang Jingning, a life without disability.

When he realized that the car accident might not have been an accident at all, his greatest obsession became uncovering the truth and stopping the tragedy. Last time, Tan Yunguang crashed into him but had someone else take the fall and escaped. This time, he had ensnared himself—and dragged the true instigator, Kuang Jingning, down with him.

But all of it no longer concerned him.

Yin Luoyan didn’t expect his senior to be not only indifferent, but nearly emotionless. He gave a disgruntled “Oh,” but then heard his senior suddenly change the subject.

“Luoyan, I need your help with something,” the original host said, and gave a number: “This is the money Bright Moon River Lake paid to buy back the AKM, and the more than ten million from selling materials in-game. I want to set up a charity fund to help people with disabilities.”

“Holy crap!” Yin Luoyan was stunned: “If you played the game for another two years, Bright Moon River Lake would probably get annexed by you!”

Original host: “…”

(:3∠) It wasn’t him—it was President Xie and Meng Feixuan.

Later, the original host successfully went abroad to continue his studies. He occasionally met up with Yin Luoyan. In the original timeline, Yin’s family had gone bankrupt due to poor business decisions. The original host had some vague knowledge of this and found a chance to tip them off early, helping them avoid the crisis.

After graduation, he returned to his alma mater to do research and still made time for charity work. He lived a busy and fulfilling life and played games to relax when he had free time.

He stubbornly registered a third account for Bright Moon River Lake using his real ID, only to be quickly flagged by the game company. The officials promised to pay him a monthly cash stipend—on the condition that he didn’t stir up trouble in the game.

Original host: “…” Okay then.

Even though it wasn’t him causing trouble, he was just too good at the game—still within the bounds of normal players.

But hey, if playing games for fun came with a subsidy, he wasn’t going to say no.

As for his “online romance” with Meng Feixuan, it eventually ended due to the long distance.

Yin Luoyan found this quite a pity: “Brother Meng might be lacking in manners, but he really treated you well.”

The original host simply smiled without replying.

Once, Yin Luoyan brought his kid to visit and casually mentioned: “Senior, do you remember Kuang Jingning and Tan Yunguang?”

The original host asked: “What about them?”

“Tan Yunguang’s family went bankrupt. After the accident, Kuang Jingning ended up disabled, remember? I don’t know how they ended up together again, but now the Tan family’s fallen into decline, and they’re fighting all the time. Apparently, it’s because Tan Yunguang doesn’t want to spend money on a caretaker…”

Yin Luoyan sighed.

“Oh,” the original host shrugged: “Serves them right.”

Yin Luoyan: “…”

He even suspected that, if given the chance, his senior might set off fireworks?!

…

Xie Ran transmigrated into a new world, into the body of another person named Xie Ran. This time, after becoming conscious, he found himself in a classroom, simultaneously receiving the original owner’s life memories.

This world’s Xie Ran was born into a poor family. His parents both worked in factories. Later, his mother suffered a serious illness, which not only used up all the family savings but also left a huge debt. Life became very tight since then.

The original owner was excellent in academics since childhood. After the middle school entrance exam, he was admitted simultaneously by the city’s best public high school and a private elite school called Qixing Middle School. Qixing not only waived his tuition but also promised him an annual scholarship. Considering the family situation, the original owner ultimately chose the elite school, which unexpectedly became the beginning of his tragedy.

The original owner was delicate and good-looking, but poor. Upon enrollment, he immediately became the bullying target of the Qixing school bullies, led by a boy named Xu Feiyan, the nephew of the Qixing principal.

Living every day in the fear of campus bullying, the original owner couldn’t concentrate on studying and his grades seriously declined. By the second year of high school, Qixing, seeing his poor grades, no longer waived his tuition and demanded the repayment of the two years’ scholarships he had already received in advance. The original owner’s family couldn’t afford Qixing’s tuition, and the scholarship had already been used to pay off debts, so he was unable to repay it.

When he was at his wits’ end, Xu Feiyan suddenly found the original owner and forced him to date him. It turned out Xu Feiyan had liked the original owner since he first enrolled and initially bullied him to get his attention. Later, afraid of being found out as gay, he intensified the bullying but eventually couldn’t control his desires and developed ulterior motives.

At that time, the original owner was desperate and had no choice but to agree. But even after they dated, the original owner’s treatment at school didn’t improve. Xu Feiyan, afraid of being found out, still bullied him with the other bullies.

In the end, the original owner failed the college entrance exam and only got admitted to an ordinary school. Even more desperate, after leaving Qixing, Xu Feiyan did not let him go, using the original owner’s family background to control him firmly. The two were entangled for years, with the original owner suffering great physical and mental torment.

Until one day, the original owner’s parents accidentally discovered his relationship with Xu Feiyan. They rushed to fight Xu Feiyan for his sake. To protect his parents, during the struggle, the original owner accidentally fell from a building with Xu Feiyan and both died.

Xie Ran transmigrated at the beginning of the second year of high school. The original owner had just failed the first-year final exams, and the school was re-evaluating his scholarship and tuition waivers, but the news had already spread.

At that moment, Xie Ran sat in the classroom while two tall boys stood beside his desk, looking down at him with teasing smiles.

These two often bullied the original owner. The leader was Liu Man, who ruled the school by forming gangs. Because of his wealthy and influential family, the school turned a blind eye to him.

The classmates knew what Liu Man and his gang were going to do when they saw them approach, but none dared to provoke them. They only secretly glanced at Xie Ran, some took pleasure in it, some sympathized, some pretended not to see and buried their heads in books, and some looked toward a corner where Xu Feiyan sat.

Nobody dared speak up for Xie Ran because Xu Feiyan was the real school bully at Qixing. Liu Man and his gang had to show him respect, and bullying Xie Ran was mainly led by Xu Feiyan with their tacit consent.

Xu Feiyan sat at his seat, looking at Xie Ran. Unlike before when he eagerly joined the bullying, this time his eyes were filled with indescribable excitement.

He had been reborn!

When the original owner’s parents discovered Xu Feiyan forcing the original owner to date him, they fought him. Xie Ran, protecting his parents, accidentally fell with Xu Feiyan.

At the moment before death, Xu Feiyan finally realized he truly loved Xie Ran, but unfortunately, while alive, although they were together, he had been tormenting Xie Ran. They had never lived like a normal couple.

He never thought that heaven would give him a second chance. Although he didn’t know how it happened, when he opened his eyes, he found himself back the night before the start of second year.

That year was the worst year of Xie Ran’s life and the time when Xu Feiyan bullied him the hardest.

This was great. This time, he would treat Xie Ran well, never let anyone bully him again, protect him to finish school safely, and openly pursue him, so everyone knew Xie Ran was his boyfriend.

They could have a proper relationship and live sweetly together after graduation.

Xu Feiyan was excited all night, planning their future. Now, his first task was to stop Liu Man and his gang from bullying Xie Ran.

He wondered if Xie Ran would feel surprised and moved when he saw him come to help.

In the future, such surprises and touches would increase. He would become Xie Ran’s savior.

Xu Feiyan almost imagined Xie Ran’s beautiful eyes looking at him in surprise and gratitude. Just thinking about it filled him with happiness and satisfaction.

This was what love felt like!

Xu Feiyan couldn’t contain his excitement, clenched his fists, and stood up.

“Hey, nerd, I heard your grades suck now.” Liu Man kicked Xie Ran’s desk hard. The desk shook and all the books and notebooks fell to the floor with a crash.

Xie Ran lowered his eyes, glanced at the scattered study materials, then slowly stood up and looked at Liu Man calmly.

The original owner was a bit thin, not short, but compared to the tall and burly Liu Man, he was half a head shorter. When they made eye contact, he had to look slightly upward, which theoretically lacked presence.

But for some reason, the moment he stood up, Liu Man suddenly felt something strange.

Before, when he bullied Xie Ran, Xie Ran would silently squat to pick things up and never dared to look at him. When their eyes accidentally met, Xie Ran’s beautiful eyes were always full of fear and unease. But this time, Xie Ran’s eyes showed no emotion.

No fear, no anger, just a calm lake. Though looking up at him, there was an inexplicable sense of looking down on Liu Man.

It made Liu Man involuntarily take a step back.

“Brother Man?” One of Liu Man’s followers nudged him, noticing something odd.

Liu Man snapped back to reality, realized his loss of composure, and angrily raised his fist to hit Xie Ran: “You brat, how dare you show off in front of me—”

Xu Feiyan, who had been waiting on the side, seized the chance, grabbed Liu Man’s wrist, and shouted: “Liu Man, stop it—”

Before he finished, he suddenly felt an unbearable sharp pain in his lower abdomen.

Xie Ran decisively raised his leg and kicked Xu Feiyan in the stomach. Xu Feiyan immediately held his belly and collapsed, pale and trembling, unable to speak.

Before anyone reacted, Xie Ran pulled back his foot, stepped forward, and delivered a beautiful elbow strike that hit Liu Man’s chin.

There was a crisp sound of teeth clashing. Liu Man’s chin was struck upward, and some saliva and blood splattered out.

All the onlookers shivered subconsciously.

But it wasn’t over. Xie Ran followed up with a combo of elbow strikes and side kicks, quickly knocking down Liu Man and his followers before they could recover.

As a rich heir who could be kidnapped anytime, Xie Ran naturally learned self-defense, but the original owner’s body was weak and lacked strength, barely able to knock them down.

Still, it shocked everyone on the spot.

The classmates were all stunned: “…???”

Had they missed a plot? This development seemed off.

Liu Man and his gang were caught off guard, luckily the blows weren’t strong enough to cause serious injuries, but their jaws trembled in pain, unable to speak, only able to wail miserably.

Xu Feiyan was even more dumbfounded. Why was the story so different from what he expected?

He sat on the ground clutching his belly, sweating cold sweat, his mind in chaos, and instinctively shouted: “Xie Ran, I’m here to help you…”

Before he finished, he suddenly got kicked in the face!!!

Xu Feiyan’s unfinished words were kicked back as he fell flat on the ground.

Liu Man and the followers: !!!!!

The classmates: !!!!!

Author’s note: CEO Xie said: Starting today, I’ll be the school bully.

I originally wanted CEO Xie to look at Liu Man like looking at pork… but never mind, I held back!

Xu Feiyan: Little Ran, I adore you, I want to help you, to move you!

Mark: You’re dead.

 

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