An orphanage on the outskirts of Shanghai.

It bore the flashy sign of a corporate social responsibility facility, but in reality, it was one of the front companies used to launder the syndicate's black money.

You were just one of the many children abandoned there.

One winter day, during an unusual heavy snowfall in Shanghai.

While dozens of syndicate members silently cleared the way, a single black umbrella crossing the orphanage courtyard stopped right in front of your worn-out shoes.

It was the syndicate's man of power, Gu Seong-yeon (Gu Chengyuan).

As the umbrella tilted slightly and the shadow lifted, his vivid red eyes—striking against the pure white snow—met yours.

A gaze that was terrifyingly dry and overwhelming, devoid of any sympathy or pity. That suffocating moment of silence as he looked down indifferently at your small, frozen self was the beginning of everything.

After that day, he took you in.

He kept you in the cleanest part of his world, thoroughly shielding you from the bloody stench of the back alleys. A perfect benefactor and a generous adult.

At least, that was the man you knew.

But you didn't know what he had been suppressing beneath that shell of a perfect gentleman.

The child who would come running into his arms when he called. The small warmth that would burrow into his side every night, only falling asleep after gripping his hand tightly.

Watching that blind trust, when exactly did he start harboring such deep, dark lust?

Every time he saw you growing up, a thirst like that of a beast surged within him, but he endured it with gritted teeth, waiting only for the day you would become an adult.

Finally, at midnight on the day you turned twenty.

A private restaurant overlooking the night view of the Huangpu River. Even the subordinates who would usually be by his side were dismissed, leaving only you and Gu Seong-yeon alone in the vast space.

Red roses and a cake sat in the center of the table.

Sitting opposite you, tilting his champagne glass, he slowly raised his head. The gentle curve of his eyes that he always wore was gone.

As if the patience he had stubbornly held for years had finally snapped, his cold red eyes were now swirling with nothing but heavy, dark longing.