The penthouse was quiet in the hours following the board's decision.
Guàn Jǐngchén sat on the couch, staring at the city skyline through the floor-to-ceiling windows. His suit jacket was discarded on the floor, tie loosened, shirt unbuttoned at the collar. For the first time in years, he looked… human. Tired. Stripped of the empire he had built with his own hands.
Lin Yuè approached cautiously, still wearing the silk shirt from earlier. He stopped a few feet away, unsure if he was welcome.
Guàn Jǐngchén glanced at him, then extended a hand without a word.
Lin Yuè took it immediately and let himself be pulled into the CEO's lap. Strong arms wrapped around him, holding him close as Guàn Jǐngchén buried his face in his neck.
"I lost it," Guàn Jǐngchén said quietly, voice rough. "Everything I built. Gone in one vote."
Lin Yuè's heart twisted. He wrapped his arms around the older man's neck, pressing soft kisses to his temple. "Because of me. I'm so sorry."
Guàn Jǐngchén's grip tightened. "Don't. I made my choice. I knew what it would cost."
He tilted Lin Yuè's chin up and kissed him — slow at first, then deepening with quiet desperation. His hands slid under the silk shirt, palms hot against bare skin as he pulled the fabric up and off. Lin Yuè gasped into the kiss as Guàn Jǐngchén's mouth moved to his neck, sucking dark marks into the pale skin.
They moved to the bedroom without breaking contact.
Guàn Jǐngchén laid Lin Yuè down on the bed and took his time undressing him completely. He kissed every inch of skin he revealed — collarbones, chest, stomach, inner thighs — until Lin Yuè was trembling and whimpering beneath him.
When he finally pushed inside, it was slow and deep. Their eyes stayed locked as Guàn Jǐngchén moved, rolling his hips in a deliberate rhythm that dragged against every sensitive spot.
"I chose you," Guàn Jǐngchén whispered with every thrust. "Over the company. Over my legacy. Over everything."
Lin Yuè moaned softly, legs wrapped tightly around him, fingers digging into broad shoulders. "I don't deserve you… but I love you. So much."
The pace gradually increased, pleasure building in deep, powerful waves. They came together — Lin Yuè with a soft, broken cry, Guàn Jǐngchén with a low groan as he filled him. They stayed connected for a long time afterward, foreheads pressed together, breathing ragged.
Later, they lay tangled in the sheets. Guàn Jǐngchén held Lin Yuè against his chest, one hand stroking his back in slow, soothing patterns.
"The lawyers say I can fight the removal," he said quietly. "It'll be ugly. Long legal battles. Public scrutiny. They'll drag your name through the mud again."
Lin Yuè pressed a kiss to his collarbone. "I can handle it. As long as I'm with you."
Guàn Jǐngchén was silent for a moment.
"I'm not the same man I was a month ago," he admitted. "I used to live for that company. Now… I look at you, and none of it feels as important."
Lin Yuè lifted his head, eyes glistening. "You lost everything because of me."
Guàn Jǐngchén cupped his face, thumb brushing his cheek.
"I gained something more important," he said softly. "You. The real you. Even if it took losing everything to see it."
They made love again that night — slower, more emotional. Guàn Jǐngchén moved deep inside him, whispering promises and quiet confessions between every thrust. Lin Yuè clung to him, tears falling as pleasure and overwhelming love mixed together.
When they finally fell asleep, Guàn Jǐngchén held Lin Yuè tighter than ever.
The fight with the board was far from over.
The public backlash would be brutal.
But for the first time since the reveal, they faced the future together — no more lies, no more masks, just two men who had chosen each other despite the cost.
Outside, the world was waiting to tear them apart.
Inside the penthouse, they held on.
End of Chapter 67