Su Nian, an illustrator who grew up in an orphanage, is sensitive and starved for affection. She’s used to capturing overlooked tenderness in her art. Then she meets Lu Chenzhou, a man at the pinnacle of the business world whose eyes are as cold as a frozen pool.
Others call him a ruthless, obsessive ruler. Haunted by being abandoned as a child, he has built high walls around himself and uses extreme possessiveness to protect what he considers his own. When they first meet, he points to the lonely boat drifting in her painting and asks, “Why doesn’t it come ashore?”
“It hasn’t found a shore willing to wait for it.”
Her words became a prophecy.
He binds her to his side with a deal, giving her the very best of everything and the tightest of shackles. He remembers that she doesn’t eat cilantro and leaves a lamp burning all night when she’s afraid of the dark. But when she laughs and chats with someone else, he asks with red-rimmed eyes, “Your smile is only for me, right?”
Su Nian once tried to break free, but his rare moments of vulnerability left her defenseless. Like a drenched young beast, he hides his fear beneath a fierce exterior and drops every pretense only when he’s with her.
“Stay.” He buries his face in the crook of her neck, his voice trembling. “Don’t leave me alone.”
She gazes into the deep sea surging in his eyes and finally returns his embrace. “I’m not going anywhere.”
His world is so small it can hold only her. Her world is willing to shrink for him, becoming the little realm within his possessive gaze.
This is not a one-sided imprisonment. Two souls starved of love have found light in each other’s shadows. He is her deep sea, and she willingly drowns in it; she is his star, illuminating all the darkness.
