72: Chapter 71 Silly girl, don't run away from home next time. I'll take you out to dinner tonight.

Su Qinghan placed the slightly wilted pothos plant on her desk at the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Two favorite ballpoint pens.

A hardcover work notebook.

Plus a white porcelain water cup.

These were all her belongings.

The colleagues around her were buried in files, the sound of typing keys rhythmic and scattered.

No one cast a curious glance at her, the newcomer.

In the sensitive environment of the Discipline Inspection Commission, everyone was long accustomed to being cautious with their words and actions.

Looking back at the ups and downs of the past short twenty-four hours, it was absurd enough to make one laugh.

Yesterday afternoon at 1:30, Treasury Division, Municipal Finance Bureau.

The new division chief, Li Wei, walked over to Su Qinghan's workstation holding a rolled-up internal notice and tapped on the desk with his fingers.

"Little Su, the Bureau Chief wants to see you."

The tone was stiff and cold, lacking the familiarity of the past, and devoid of the usual work-related pleasantries.

People in officialdom are always the most sensitive to shifting winds.

Su Qinghan stood up and headed to the Bureau Chief's office.

She pushed the door open and entered.

Director Wang was sitting in his large boss chair, looking down at a report.

In the past, whenever Su Qinghan came in, this balding Bureau Chief would always be the first to stand up, pointing at the sofa with a beaming smile to let her sit, and would even pour her a cup of hot tea himself.

Today, Director Wang didn't even lift his head.

Su Qinghan just stood there.

It wasn't until three minutes later that Director Wang pushed the report aside and rested his chin on his crossed hands.

"Little Su."

"Your Treasury Division is the core hub that controls the flow of funds for the entire city; the requirements are high, and the burden is heavy."

"Recently, the Bureau Party Committee conducted a professional quantitative assessment of all personnel in the Treasury Division."

"Your professional skills assessment conclusion is: unqualified."

Su Qinghan looked at that slick, oily face and almost laughed out loud.

Just two days ago, at the Finance Bureau's general meeting, this Director Wang had praised her extensively in front of everyone, complimenting her strong learning ability and professional proficiency, calling her a young backbone talent that the bureau was focused on cultivating.

Playing fast and loose, all within the span of two lips.

"However, the organization will not give up on any comrade."

"The Bureau Party Committee met and decided to transfer you out to train in a different environment."

"You are going to the Women's Federation Rights Protection Department. I hope that in your new unit, you will learn more from veteran comrades and make up for your professional shortcomings."

The Women's Federation.

As soon as these words came out, Su Qinghan understood everything.

This was dumping her into an inconsequential government office to retire.

In all of Linjiang City, the only person who could make the head of the Finance Bureau lose face and go back on his word like this was that Mayor, her father, Mayor Su Changming.

He was cleaning house.

Seeing that Su Qinghan did not reply, Director Wang put away that compassionate act and waved his hand.

"Go back and pack your things, and hand over your current work. Tomorrow, once the transfer procedures from the Organization Department arrive, you will report directly to the Women's Federation."

Su Qinghan did not refute a single word.

In the face of power suppression, any argument is self-humiliation.

She turned and stepped out of the office, leaving the other party with only a cold back view.

Returning to the Treasury Division.

Seeing her return, Li Wei walked up holding his cup.

"Little Su, the Bureau Chief has given you instructions, right? Hand over your current work to Little Wang. Tomorrow, after you get the paperwork, go directly to your new unit."

The air in the office was unusually quiet.

The old-timers who usually surrounded her, calling her "Sister Qinghan" at every turn, now all had their faces buried behind their computer screens.

When someone went to get water and passed by her workstation, they deliberately took a wide berth.

Just like avoiding a plague god.

No one wanted to get involved with her.

Su Qinghan was quick and efficient.

She was only responsible for a few basic data checks, so the handover list was only two pages long.

When Little Wang signed, his hands were tucked into his sleeves, afraid of touching her fingertips.

Near the end of the workday, Su Qinghan emptied her drawer.

In the bottom corner, there lay a key.

That was a key to a unit in the Municipal Youth Cadre Dormitory that the Finance Bureau's Logistics Department had proactively issued to her half a month ago, saying it was for her convenience to have a place to rest at noon.

She pinched the somewhat cold key.

She did not want to become a stumbling block on the official career path of Zhu Wenhao.

With this key, she would at least have a place to stay in the future.

She tucked the key into her coat pocket and walked into the flow of people leaving work.

This morning.

Su Qinghan did not go to the Finance Bureau.

At 7:00 AM, she only sent a message to Division Chief Li Wei: "Feeling unwell, requesting half a day off."

In less than ten minutes, Li Wei's call came through.

The phone was vibrating.

Su Qinghan glanced at the name on the screen and pressed the reject button.

The phone rang unyieldingly three times.

Su Qinghan pressed the power-off button, and the world became quiet.

She spent the whole morning moving all the suitcases she had brought from Donghu Bay into the Municipal Youth Cadre Dormitory.

A one-bedroom, one-living room layout, fifty square meters.

She rolled up her sleeves and used a rag to wipe the windowsill, tables, chairs, and floor bit by bit.

This was a nearly masochistic physical exertion; only by keeping her hands and feet moving would her brain not think of that man.

Once tidy, she sat on the bare, hard bed.

She looked around.

In the afternoon, she would go to the Women's Federation to report, buy some daily necessities, and add two easy-to-care-for green plants.

Future days would just be a routine retirement—eating alone, going to work alone.

This was the track fate had arranged.

2:30 PM.

Su Qinghan appeared at the Treasury Division of the Finance Bureau on time.

As soon as she crossed the threshold of the office, she bumped into Division Chief Li Wei.

Li Wei was stunned at first, and then a flower bloomed on that face.

He took two steps forward and even reached out both hands, wanting to take the bag from her hand.

"Oh, Qinghan! You finally arrived!"

This "Qinghan" was called out more affectionately than her own father would have.

"Are you feeling better? I called you this morning, but it was always off. Everyone in the division was worried sick. Your leaving is truly a huge loss for our Treasury Division. After you go to your new unit, please don't forget us old colleagues who fought side by side!"

Su Qinghan avoided his hand, her brows slightly furrowed.

Something was abnormal.

Li Wei's shift from arrogance to obsequiousness was definitely not because she was going to that profitless Women's Federation.

"Director Wang has been waiting for you in his office for a long time. Go quickly, go quickly." Li Wei eagerly stepped aside to make way.

Walking to the door of the Bureau Chief's office.

The door was not closed; it was ajar.

As soon as Su Qinghan knocked on the doorframe once, Director Wang had already sprung up from his boss chair.

He quickly walked around the desk and reached out his right hand from a distance.

"Qinghan, come in and sit, sit quickly!"

Director Wang welcomed her to the leather sofa, turned around, and went to the tea cabinet himself, took out some high-quality Jin Junmei tea, brewed a cup of hot tea, and steadily brought it in front of her.

"Bureau Chief, the transfer procedures from the Organization Department have come down, right? I will leave once I get the paperwork and report to the Women's Federation." Su Qinghan did not touch the cup of tea and cut straight to the point.

"Women's Federation? What Women's Federation!"

Director Wang's voice was loud, "For such an outstanding professional talent like you, going to the Women's Federation would be a waste of talent!"

He went to his desk, picked up a document, and handed it to Su Qinghan.

"The transfer letter from the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection just arrived."

"Secretary Li of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection specifically requested you; we are going directly through the transfer procedure."

"Qinghan, although you are going to the Discipline Inspection Commission, our Finance Bureau will always be your home. If one day you come to inspect the bureau, you must be lenient with us old colleagues."

Director Wang rambled on for a long time.

Su Qinghan sat on the sofa, looking at that transfer order.

The Third Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office.

Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Going here, not only would she not be sidelined, but she could also hold the power of life and death.

As for who was operating all this behind the scenes.

The answer was self-evident.

Except for him, in all of Linjiang City, who had such sky-high means to forcibly snatch her from Mayor Su Changming's hands and bring her to such a vital department as the Discipline Inspection Commission?

Zhu Wenhao.

"Bureau Chief, I have other things to do, I'll go report first."

Su Qinghan stood up and took the transfer letter.

She didn't want to hear another word of Director Wang's vapid pleasantries.

Walking out of the Bureau Chief's office and returning to the Treasury Division.

The colleagues who were afraid to avoid her yesterday all swarmed around her.

Some offered snacks, some helped carry her bags, and someone even suggested pooling money to throw her a farewell banquet tonight.

Going to the Discipline Inspection Commission versus going to the Women's Federation—this was a world of difference.

Once she was at the Discipline Inspection Commission, who could guarantee that there wouldn't be a day in the future when they would need to beg at her door?

People have always been such forgetful and realistic animals.

Su Qinghan politely and distantly declined everyone's "kindness."

She walked out of the building alone, hailed a taxi by the roadside, and headed straight for the compound of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Withdrawing her thoughts.

Su Qinghan smoothed out the curled corner of the work discipline manual on the desk.

The phone screen on the desk lit up.

A short message popped into view.

Sender: Zhu Wenhao.

"Silly girl, don't run away from home next time. Wait for me after work, I'll take you out for dinner tonight."

No long-winded explanations, no exaggeration of claiming credit.

Only a plain, simple exhortation.

Su Qinghan stared at that line of text.

Her eyes felt sore, and her vision gradually blurred.

The coldness and strength she had forcibly held up for the past two days shattered at this moment.

She did not reply with any long-winded message; she just typed one word into the input box.

"Okay."

Click send.

She buried her head in her arms, pressing it against the cold office desk.

In this quiet Third Office of the Discipline Inspection Commission, she let her tears silently wet her sleeves.

It was an ultimate catharsis of having narrowly escaped death and regained what was lost.

Municipal Organization Department building, Cadre Division 2.

Zhu Wenhao looked at the "Okay" that popped up on the screen and flipped his phone face down on the desk.

The sunlight outside the window slanted westward.

The rear was secure.

He should pack his bags and head to that broader and more dangerous battlefield in the provincial capital.

A bigger poker table; he was coming.