The board's ultimatum hung over the penthouse like a storm cloud that refused to break.
One week.
Seven days for Guàn Jǐngchén to publicly distance himself from Lin Yuè or face a vote of no confidence.
Guàn Jǐngchén had not spoken about it since that night. Instead, he channeled everything into the only outlet he seemed to have left — Lin Yuè.
That evening, he came home earlier than usual. The moment the door closed, he dropped his briefcase and crossed the room in long strides. Lin Yuè barely had time to set down the book he was reading before Guàn Jǐngchén pulled him up and kissed him with bruising intensity.
No words were needed.
Guàn Jǐngchén walked him backward into the bedroom, stripping the soft sweater off Lin Yuè with impatient hands. He pushed him down onto the bed on his stomach, then climbed over him, covering his smaller body completely.
"You've been waiting for me all day," Guàn Jǐngchén murmured against the back of his neck, voice low and rough. "Good boy."
He didn't prepare him gently. He slicked himself quickly and pushed inside with one hard thrust, drawing a sharp cry from Lin Yuè. The rhythm was immediate and punishing — deep, fast, and relentless.
"Every meeting today," Guàn Jǐngchén growled between powerful thrusts, "they kept pushing. Telling me I'm risking everything for a liar. For a ghost."
Lin Yuè moaned into the sheets, fingers gripping the fabric tightly as he pushed back to meet every brutal stroke. "I'm sorry… I never wanted this for you."
Guàn Jǐngchén's hand tangled in his messy black hair, yanking his head back as he drove deeper. "Then take it. Take everything I need to give you right now."
The pace became almost savage. The sound of skin slapping skin filled the room, mixed with Lin Yuè's broken moans and Guàn Jǐngchén's low, angry groans. When Lin Yuè came with a sharp cry, spilling onto the sheets, Guàn Jǐngchén followed right after, burying himself to the hilt with a guttural sound as he filled him.
They collapsed together, breathing harshly.
Guàn Jǐngchén didn't pull out immediately. He stayed buried deep, pressing his forehead to the back of Lin Yuè's neck.
"I told the board I wouldn't distance myself," he said quietly, voice strained. "I told them if they force the vote, I'll fight it. But they're serious this time."
Lin Yuè turned his head slightly, eyes glistening. "What will you do if they win?"
Guàn Jǐngchén's arm tightened around him.
"I don't know," he admitted. "But I'm not letting you go. Not yet."
He finally pulled out and rolled them so Lin Yuè was lying on his chest. His hand stroked down the younger man's back in slow, almost absent patterns.
"I still can't forgive you completely," he said into the quiet. "The lies still burn. But every time I think about sending you away… I can't breathe."
Lin Yuè pressed a soft kiss to his collarbone. "Then don't send me away. Keep me here. Hate me if you need to. Use me. Punish me. I'll take all of it if it means I can stay with you."
Guàn Jǐngchén's grip tightened almost painfully.
"You're dangerous," he whispered. "Even now, you're dangerous to me."
They fell asleep like that — tangled together, bodies joined in more ways than one.
The next morning, Guàn Jǐngchén left for the office with a heavy silence between them. Before he walked out the door, he stopped and looked back at Lin Yuè, who was standing in the living room wearing one of his shirts.
"The board meeting is in three days," he said. "After that… everything might change."
Lin Yuè nodded, eyes soft and resigned. "I'll be here when you come back. No matter what."
Guàn Jǐngchén stared at him for a long moment, then left without another word.
Alone in the penthouse, Lin Yuè sat on the couch and hugged his knees to his chest.
He had caused this.
He had broken the man he loved.
And now all he could do was wait — hoping against hope that when the board made their decision, Guàn Jǐngchén would still choose to keep the ghost who had stolen his heart.
The clock was ticking.
Three days until everything could fall apart.
Or three days until they began to rebuild something new from the ashes.
End of Chapter 59