I stood up, took a document from my bag, and threw it onto the table.
"This is the disownment agreement," I said. "I'm an adult now. From today onward, I have nothing to do with the Jiang family. Whether you live or die is none of my concern."
With that, I turned and walked away.
"Stop!" Dad bellowed. "What will we do if you leave?!"
"That's right! Jiang Yue! You can't be so heartless!" Mom shrieked through tears. "We raised you for eighteen years!"
I paused and looked back at them.
"Raised me for eighteen years?"
I laughed, tears streaming down my face.
"In those eighteen years, did you ever give me a single kind look?"
"In those eighteen years, was there ever once when you truly loved me?"
"Your so-called 'debt of gratitude for raising me' was nothing but a self-congratulatory act of charity."
"Now, I don't want your charity anymore."
"You can cling to your pathetic notion of 'family love' and rot slowly in that swamp of yours."
After speaking, I walked out of that house without looking back.
Behind me came their furious curses and wails.
I ignored it all.
I walked along the late-night street, the night breeze lifting my long hair.
I looked up at the moon in the sky.
Large, round, and bright.
Just like my name.
Jiang Yue. (River Moon)
In the past, I lived under the shadow of dark clouds, dim and obscured.
From today onward, I will reclaim myself.
I will become Jiang Yue once more—
Serene, proud, yet radiant.
My phone rang.
It was the notification tone from the Lie Detection System.
[Mission Complete. Reward: New Life.]
[System unbinding imminent. Host, I wish you all the best for the future.]
For the first time, its usually cold voice carried a trace of warmth.
I smiled faintly and whispered, "Thank you."
Then, I turned off my phone and tossed it into a roadside bin.
I didn't need it anymore.
Because I had already learned how to discern the most complex lies in this world.
Namely, the human heart.