Chapter 147: A Shocking Misunderstanding Case!

Chapter 147: The Shocking Case of a Massive Misunderstanding!

"That's right."

"Yue Hangyi came from a well-to-do family. Her parents didn’t want her to miss out on such a good match, believing she wouldn’t find anyone better. So, they persuaded her to give up on me and get engaged to Yue Hangyi."

"I was never interested in her. I only accompanied Yue Hangyi to meet her twice. After realizing her feelings for me, I stopped going. She understood there was no future for us, so she agreed to the engagement."

Quan Ruifeng recounted the past events earnestly, his gaze at Xia Xian still tinged with regret and confusion.

No one truly knew the truth of what happened back then.

"However, even though she was somewhat reluctant at the time of the engagement, feelings can develop. Their bond grew stronger through their correspondence, and she eventually accepted Yue Hangyi. That’s why she came to me, wanting me to take her to the military base to see Yue Hangyi as a surprise—his birthday was approaching."

"You can’t just enter a military base. I refused her. On her way back, she had an accident—she drowned."

"It was ruled out as murder, but whether it was suicide or an accidental drowning was difficult to determine."

"She had a habit of writing in a diary. After her death, her parents found it in her room. One entry expressed her feelings for me—that she didn’t want to marry Yue Hangyi, that she wanted to elope with me. If I refused to take her away, she’d rather die. She felt her parents were forcing her into the engagement with Yue Hangyi, that no one loved her for herself, only for what Yue Hangyi’s family could offer."

"She wrote that in her diary. Before the accident, she even wrote me a letter asking to meet alone—coincidentally, on that very day. After we parted, she drowned. All the evidence pointed to me."

"Even though I was cleared of suspicion, no one believed my account. Everyone assumed she had taken her own life because she didn’t want to marry, that I had seduced my best friend’s fiancée and then abandoned her, leading to her suicide."

"Sometimes I regret it—why did I worry about appearances and not see her home myself? Or if I had agreed and taken her to Yue Hangyi’s base, perhaps this tragedy wouldn’t have happened."

Quan Ruifeng spoke with deep sorrow. This accident was unforeseen, something no one could have predicted or accepted.

Yue Hangyi blamed himself for pressuring her, for causing her such psychological distress that she’d rather die than stay with him. He also resented Quan Ruifeng for his captivating looks—if he hadn’t been so handsome, would the young woman have been so infatuated that she’d kill herself over not being with him?

Yes, the young woman’s family and the Yue family believed it was suicide. It was all too coincidental—no one thought it was an accident.

Since Quan Ruifeng was the last person to see her, they all blamed him. After all, the deceased couldn’t be at fault, and people rarely blamed themselves—so he became the scapegoat.

Because of this, Quan Ruifeng and Yue Hangyi completely severed ties, cutting off all contact. He didn’t join the military but instead entered the police department—partly to avoid Yue Hangyi, and partly to uncover the truth of that year and clear the names of countless wronged people.

This was why Quan Ruifeng devoted himself to his career. If he hadn’t met Xia Xian and fallen for her, he might have ended up like Yue Hangyi—never marrying, haunted by the psychological trauma.

"I’m sorry, Xia Xian, for never telling you about this. Does this bother you? I’ll accept whatever you feel. If you want to blame me, that’s also—"

Quan Ruifeng spoke softly, his usually sharp and penetrating eyes dimmed with sorrow.

Before he could finish, Xia Xian wrapped him in a tight hug.

"I believe you. How could I blame you? None of this was your fault, yet you suffered because of it. Who would casually bring up such things? It’s disrespectful to both you and her."

She held him firmly, offering comfort and strength, pressing her soft cheek against his chest as if listening to his aching heartbeat.

In this entire ordeal, the most innocent were Quan Ruifeng and that young woman. What right did Yue Hangyi and his family have to blame Quan Ruifeng? Even if the young woman still harbored feelings for Quan Ruifeng and took her own life over the engagement, wasn’t the real culprit Yue Hangyi and her family? If they hadn’t forced the marriage, none of this would have happened!

But assigning blame wasn’t the priority now—the truth was. They needed the truth!

Otherwise, the young woman would forever bear the stigma of a failed elopement and suicide, and Quan Ruifeng would continue to endure slander and attacks.

"You mentioned she kept a diary. Why did she write about her feelings for you but not about her change of heart later? Could there be another diary that wasn’t found?"

Xia Xian asked the most critical question, her bright almond eyes fixed intently on Quan Ruifeng, hoping for good news. But there was none.

"Nothing was found. I searched myself—there was nothing."

Quan Ruifeng shook his head. If she had left even a single line in her diary about her shifting feelings, perhaps someone would have believed him.

No one would believe that someone who had written about her love for him just weeks prior could suddenly accept Yue Hangyi and even seek him out to visit the military base.

Put another way—if she really wanted to see Yue Hangyi, why did it have to be him taking her? Couldn’t she ask someone else?

Yue Hangyi didn’t believe it. He knew Quan Ruifeng wasn’t the type to deliberately seduce a friend’s fiancée. He just wanted the truth from Quan Ruifeng—even if it was that the young woman had wanted him to help her elope. He just wanted honesty.

But what Quan Ruifeng said was the truth. Yue Hangyi refused to believe it, convinced that Quan Ruifeng’s insistence on this version of events meant he was hiding something major—perhaps even involvement in the young woman’s death. That was why their rift became irreparable, leading to a complete estrangement, with even their families turning against each other.

After hearing everything, Xia Xian felt nothing but a headache. No wonder this hadn’t been resolved after all these years—it was far more complicated than she’d imagined.

Now, it had become an unsolved case.

Xia Xian racked her brain, trying to recall anything from her past life that might offer useful information to help Quan Ruifeng.

She knew Yue Hangyi—that was why she had been so shocked to see him earlier.

But only from the newspapers.

Yue Hangyi had been wrongfully accused in a case, mistaken for the murderer, and imprisoned for over twenty years before the truth came to light. The compensation he received made it one of the most notorious wrongful convictions at the time, widely reported—which was how Xia Xian knew about it.

The article had included contrasting photos of him in his youth and after years of suffering—a stark, haunting difference that left a deep impression. It had also detailed his life.

What exactly had it said…?

Wait! There might have been a mention of this incident!