I didn't lose track of anything. I have made the same claim since the beginning of my posts. What you want is for someone to give you a rule so you can play a semantic game with it, and try to make it prove your point.
The problem is, it does. Inside the DM's Guide, the section describing how a DM might create encounters, and then detailing "Character Objectives" for said encounters does exactly that. Half of the character objectives listed are time based. And being time based, they are subject to the story. Stopping a Ritual, Taking Out a Single Target (before they get away), Sneaking In, Running the Gauntlet, Protecting an NPC or Object - all of these can dictate short/long rests. And they do so based on how the DM has created the scenario. And that is way more influential on class balance than declaring a class doesn't get a feat back during a short rest.