Su Lingyu is a twenty-two-year-old woman who suffers from severe Separation Anxiety Disorder, a psychological condition stemming from a childhood kidnapping experience where she was locked in a dark room for three days. Following the marriage of her protective older brother, Su Huainan, she relies heavily on her childhood friend and boyfriend, Shen Qiao, for emotional stability. Their relationship, however, is strained by Shen Qiao’s growing resentment toward her clinginess. During a business trip to an airport, Shen Qiao publicly humiliates Su Lingyu, accusing her of stalking and demanding she respect his personal space before abandoning her to fly back alone. Devastated and experiencing a severe anxiety episode, Su Lingyu is left alone in the VIP lounge.
Jiang Yuli, Shen Qiao’s uncle and the ruthless CEO of Hundred Rivers Group, enters the lounge. He is a man who was sent abroad at age eight by his cold father, Shen Zeming, and has lived as an outsider in his own family. Shen Qiao carelessly asks Jiang Yuli to look after Su Lingyu, unaware of the tension between them. When Su Lingyu, in a moment of desperation and rebellion, asks Jiang Yuli for comfort and proposes they date instead of her breaking up with Shen Qiao, Jiang Yuli seizes the opportunity. He insists on official status before engaging romantically, leading Su Lingyu to send a breakup text to Shen Qiao. During a rainstorm that delays their flight, Su Lingyu becomes intoxicated and vulnerable, eventually falling asleep in Jiang Yuli’s arms. This night marks the beginning of a complex dynamic between the two.
Upon returning to Beijing, Su Lingyu’s brother, Su Huainan, furious at Shen Qiao’s treatment of his sister, unilaterally cancels a major technical cooperation project between the Su Corporation and Hundred Rivers Group. Shen Qiao, realizing the severity of his mistake, attempts to reconcile with Su Lingyu, but she remains resolute. Jiang Yuli begins his pursuit of Su Lingyu, lending her his luxury car and driver, which draws the ire of the Shen family. Shen Qiao confronts Su Lingyu at a club, only for Jiang Yuli to appear and claim Su Lingyu as his own, further escalating the family feud.
The conflict intensifies when Shen Qiao complains to his grandfather, Old Master Shen Zeming. The patriarch, who has always favored his elder son and grandson while neglecting Jiang Yuli, confronts Jiang Yuli and brutally beats him with a cane for allegedly stealing his nephew’s girlfriend. Su Lingyu arrives at the Shen mansion just in time to witness the violence. She defends Jiang Yuli, arguing that he is the last living link to the Old Master’s deceased wife and that his cold demeanor is a result of lifelong emotional neglect. Her words deeply affect Shen Zeming, causing him to pause. Su Lingyu then tends to Jiang Yuli’s injuries at his home, where she discovers his lonely, minimalist apartment and a bubble gun, hinting at a hidden softer side. The story concludes with Jiang Yuli and Su Lingyu’s relationship deepening as they navigate the hostile Shen family dynamics and the ongoing power struggle for the Hundred Rivers Group inheritance.
