{"id":7417,"date":"2025-08-25T08:46:51","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T06:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/?p=7417"},"modified":"2025-08-25T08:46:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T06:46:51","slug":"doascc-chapter-67-lets-break-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/2025\/08\/25\/doascc-chapter-67-lets-break-up\/","title":{"rendered":"DOASCC – Chapter 67 – Let’s Break Up"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Neither Ying Kaixi nor his mother expected Xie Ran to actually leave without a moment\u2019s hesitation. They were both stunned for a while before they snapped out of it.<\/p>\r\n

Ying’s mother was absolutely furious\u2014not just because Xie Ran didn\u2019t bow and scrape as she had imagined, but more so because he had openly criticized the quality of her gemstone, saying only nouveau riche would wear something like that!<\/p>\r\n

And the worst part was\u2014Xie Ran had been right!<\/p>\r\n

The Ying family had only made their fortune in the past decade or so. While they were wealthy, they were far from the uppermost tier. They lacked the pedigree and old money background. Ying\u2019s mother had been trying everything to climb into the true elite circle of society ladies, but those families who had been wealthy for generations all looked down on her.<\/p>\r\n

She could afford top-tier jewelry, yes, but the real elite circles didn\u2019t think highly of her. The best pieces were always reserved for long-standing, knowledgeable clients. By the time it got to her, it was always second-tier leftovers.<\/p>\r\n

Ying\u2019s mother was obsessed with appearances, and this had always been a sore spot for her. Fortunately, the truly elite ladies never embarrassed her directly, and most regular people didn\u2019t know enough to notice. Around her friends from more modest backgrounds, she could still show off.<\/p>\r\n

Today, she had originally planned to boost her own image and put Xie Ran in his place. She never imagined Xie Ran wouldn\u2019t give her any face at all\u2014and actually knew that much about gemstones!<\/p>\r\n

Ying\u2019s mother had mingled in high society long enough to know\u2014even in households with vast jewelry collections, not everyone could identify gemstone quality at a glance, let alone state parameters with such precision.<\/p>\r\n

She had no room to argue back.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cH-He\u2014\u201d Ying\u2019s mother pointed toward the direction Xie Ran had left, her lips trembling with rage, and snapped at Ying Kaixi: “This is the partner you chose?!\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThis has to be a misunderstanding. Xiao Ran isn\u2019t usually like this!\u201d Ying Kaixi quickly stood up: “Mom, wait here. I\u2019ll go get him back and make him apologize to you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

But Ying\u2019s mother wouldn\u2019t hear it. She roared: “You are not allowed to go! If you keep seeing him, don\u2019t bother coming back!\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Ying Kaixi had no choice but to pretend he didn\u2019t hear her and rushed outside. He was fuming too. He\u2019d clearly warned Xie Ran before they came, told him to be patient no matter what his mom said. Xie Ran had agreed\u2014yet in the end, he still embarrassed his mother!<\/p>\r\n

The Ying family lived in a villa in a high-end neighborhood with a garage. Xie Ran had driven himself over in a small car.<\/p>\r\n

Ying Kaixi chased him to the garage and saw Xie Ran just opening the car door to get in. He dashed over, slammed the door shut, and stared at Xie Ran: “Xiao Ran, what are you doing? How could you speak to my mom like that?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWhy couldn\u2019t I?\u201d Xie Ran looked indifferent and asked, a bit puzzled: “Was there a contract forbidding it?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Ying Kaixi choked on his words, growing even more furious.<\/p>\r\n

Was that a human response?<\/p>\r\n

Did he seriously need a signed contract to know what he could and couldn\u2019t say?<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing all this for our future!\u201d Ying Kaixi snapped: “Xiao Ran, my mom finally agreed to our relationship\u2014what\u2019s so hard about humoring her a little?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Xie Ran replied: “It is hard.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201c\u2026\u201d Ying Kaixi hadn\u2019t expected him to answer so directly and nearly choked with frustration. Desperate, he played his trump card, widening his eyes: \u201cXiao Ran, are you saying you don\u2019t want to be with me anymore?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

He knew Xie Ran was emotionally driven and hated the thought of breaking up or making things difficult between them.<\/p>\r\n

So he made himself look conflicted, like he was genuinely considering a breakup. He didn\u2019t believe for a second that Xie Ran would actually go through with it.<\/p>\r\n

But Xie Ran still answered calmly and without hesitation: “Yes. Let\u2019s break up.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

If you listened closely, there was even a trace of eagerness in his tone.<\/p>\r\n

A question mark slowly formed on Ying Kaixi\u2019s forehead. In disbelief, he asked: “You want to break up with me?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Xie Ran said, then pushed Ying Kaixi aside, got into the driver\u2019s seat, and tried to shut the door\u2014but Ying Kaixi held it firmly.<\/p>\r\n

Ying Kaixi couldn\u2019t believe what he\u2019d just heard. He shouted: “Xie Ran, do you even know what you\u2019re saying? Think it over! Don\u2019t think you can just do whatever you want because I like you! I\u2019m telling you\u2014if you leave like this today, we\u2019re really done! I mean it\u2014\u201d<\/p>\r\n

But Xie Ran didn\u2019t give him a chance to finish. He slammed on the gas, and the car lurched forward. Ying Kaixi, still holding the door handle, was caught off guard and got yanked to the ground.<\/p>\r\n

Then Xie Ran yanked the door shut, restarted the car, and drove away without a second glance.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cXie Ran! You\u2019ll regret this!\u201d Ying Kaixi screamed from the ground, pounding the pavement in fury.<\/p>\r\n

Xie Ran drove back to the original host\u2019s small apartment. The host had started working as an online celebrity during school and earned a decent income. After graduation, he saved up enough for a mortgage on a small place.<\/p>\r\n

On the road, Xie Ran pondered what the original host\u2019s lingering obsession might have been.<\/p>\r\n

Compared to the previous worlds, this one was harder for him to understand.<\/p>\r\n

The original host was a carefree person. His plan had been to find a normal job and live an ordinary life after graduation. Then a viral photo got him online fame, and he rolled with it. He made decent money but never aggressively pursued the influencer life.<\/p>\r\n

Later, Ying Kaixi said his mom didn\u2019t like the host showing his face online\u2014it embarrassed the family\u2014so Xie Ran just gave it up without much resistance and found a regular 9-to-5 job.<\/p>\r\n

It didn\u2019t really seem like he was obsessed with Ying Kaixi either. Xie Ran couldn\u2019t fully understand the host\u2019s feelings, but from what he gathered, the later years of the host\u2019s life were just a constant entanglement with Ying Kaixi. Part of it was being manipulated by his suicide threats, but it also felt like the host\u2026 just got used to it and didn\u2019t care anymore.<\/p>\r\n

In other aspects\u2014money, family, friends\u2014nothing seemed especially important to him. There wasn\u2019t any obvious regret.<\/p>\r\n

It was baffling.<\/p>\r\n

Xie Ran couldn\u2019t figure it out for now, so he gave up thinking about it. But when the car\u2019s GPS voice rang out, he was momentarily dazed. He glanced at the navigation screen, suddenly thinking of the AI who always helped him find his way in every world.<\/p>\r\n

Meng Feixuan\u2014had he followed him here? Where was he now?<\/p>\r\n

Realizing he might be missing Meng Feixuan, Xie Ran felt a little lost. He had always been used to living, studying, and working alone. In his life: “missing someone\u201d had never been a real emotion.<\/p>\r\n

But now, he sort of understood\u2014it was the habit of being with someone, and a longing for the unknown.<\/p>\r\n

Before Meng Feixuan even existed, when Xie Ran only had data for company, he had once wondered what form his AI would eventually take, and when it would appear.<\/p>\r\n

Now, there were even more shared memories between him and Meng Feixuan\u2014memories stored in meticulous detail in the AI\u2019s servers.<\/p>\r\n

And those memories came flooding back now that they were separated.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cSo this is what it feels like,\u201d Xie Ran murmured with a soft laugh.<\/p>\r\n

Not long after he got back to the apartment, he received a call from staff at \u201cBig Face Cat Live,\u201d the streaming platform the original host was signed to. They reminded him to pay attention to his broadcast hours this month.<\/p>\r\n

Streaming had been one of the host\u2019s jobs. He had a contract with the platform requiring him to meet a set number of hours every month. The host had always treated it like a regular job, doing just enough to fulfill the quota\u2014no more, no less. Fans called him a \u201ccorporate drone\u201d type of streamer.<\/p>\r\n

This month, because of all the Ying family drama, the host had taken two days off. He was short on time, and the staff knew his personality well, so they called to remind him.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cGot it,\u201d Xie Ran replied. He had a strong sense of responsibility\u2014since the contract required it, he\u2019d get it done.<\/p>\r\n

Since he had nothing else to do, he hung up and casually started a livestream.<\/p>\r\n

The original host had a decent face-based following, but wasn\u2019t particularly active, so his popularity was middling. His fans weren\u2019t massive in number, and not everyone tuned in daily.<\/p>\r\n

This wasn\u2019t the host\u2019s usual streaming time, so the viewer count was low at first. A few loyal fans noticed and immediately posted on his homepage, slowly increasing traffic.<\/p>\r\n

[Wow, Xiao Ran is streaming at this hour?! Is this overtime? It has to be overtime, right?]<\/p>\r\n

[Overtime my butt. Obviously he’s making up for hours\u2026 It\u2019s just rescheduled work! \ud83d\ude06]<\/p>\r\n

[Hehe, I was smart enough to check in, knowing our office-drone Xiao Ran had taken two days off. Capitalists always make you pay it back. I caught him! \ud83e\udd73]<\/p>\r\n

[What\u2019s Xiao Ran streaming today? Singing? Guitar? Gaming?]<\/p>\r\n

Xie Ran had plenty of on-camera experience from his original world and had even worked in entertainment in his first transmigration. So livestreaming didn\u2019t faze him at all.<\/p>\r\n

He didn\u2019t care how many people were watching\u2014he just needed to fulfill the required hours.<\/p>\r\n

So once the camera turned on, Xie Ran simply booted up his computer and began working. First, he checked the tech development level in this world.<\/p>\r\n

Since the host\u2019s computer was linked to the stream, the audience could see everything on his screen.<\/p>\r\n

The host had built his career on looks and didn\u2019t have any particular talent. His streams were casual\u2014sometimes singing and playing guitar, sometimes gaming, sometimes just chatting.<\/p>\r\n

So when Xie Ran started up his computer, everyone thought he was launching a game. But then he began working\u2014and the comment section exploded:<\/p>\r\n

[???????]<\/p>\r\n

[What\u2019s Xiao Ran doing??]<\/p>\r\n

[Wow, his typing is so fast today!!!]<\/p>\r\n

[Wait, is he reading SCI papers?!]<\/p>\r\n

[Did I just see him annotate one…?]<\/p>\r\n

[He\u2019s browsing official websites of major tech companies?!]<\/p>\r\n

[Did he just find a bug on a homepage?!]<\/p>\r\n

[Bro, wake up. Even if you\u2019re trying to hit your streaming quota, this isn\u2019t how you do it\u2026 \ud83d\ude33]<\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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<\/p>\r\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neither Ying Kaixi nor his mother expected Xie Ran to actually leave without a moment\u2019s hesitation. They were both stunned for a while before they snapped out of it. Ying’s mother was absolutely furious\u2014not just because Xie Ran didn\u2019t bow and scrape as she had imagined, but more so because he had openly criticized the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dramas-of-abusive-scums-causes-comfort","entry","has-media"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ontimestory.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/scums.jpg?fit=239%2C335&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7417"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7419,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7417\/revisions\/7419"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}