Chapter 938: Mr. Wang's Moment of Despair

The news of Wang Qigang's suspension spread quickly throughout Wuzhou's official circles.

There was no official document or announcement; the news leaked from a banquet, like a drop of water falling into hot oil, exploding across the city.

Some said Wang Qigang would be laterally transferred to Nanzhou to serve as mayor, with his rank unchanged.

Others said he would be reassigned to the provincial CPPCC to retire, sidelined and completely marginalized.

Still others said the Central Organization Department was evaluating him, possibly to transfer him to the capital.

All kinds of rumors were circulating.

But one thing everyone tacitly understood—the situation in Wuzhou had truly changed; Lin Dongfan had become the city's de facto leader.

These rumors reached Wang Qigang's ears, plunging him into depression.

He stayed indoors for three days without going out.

His wife, Cheng Ying, had been taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission been taken away and had not returned; it was estimated she would not come back within three years. Their child was studying abroad, rarely in contact, and still unaware that his mother had been arrested.

He sat alone in the living room, staring at the mobile phone on the coffee table, its screen dark.

Over these three days, his phone had not rung; no one had called him.

Even WeChat was silent, not a single greeting.

Those who used to ask after his well‑being every day seemed to have agreed to vanish collectively from his sight.

He reached out to touch the phone screen, his fingertips cold, then pulled back. He rose and walked to the courtyard, the small front garden he had made when he first moved to Wuzhou.

When in a good mood, Wang Qigang liked to trim the flower branches.

When in a bad mood, he also liked to trim the branches and flowers.

The garden was planted with fine varieties—camellias, roses, osmanthus, and a wintersweet he had brought from his hometown, which filled the courtyard with fragrance when it bloomed in winter.

Wang Qigang picked up the shears and aimed at a pot of roses in full bloom.

He snipped—

The branch broke, petals scattering everywhere.

He didn't stop, snipping one after another as if he bore a grudge against that pot of roses; in moments he had cut it down to a bare stub, with broken stems littering the ground.

Finally, he stood before that bare stem, staring blankly for a while.

He once thought he was the wielding the shears, able to prune whomever he wished; now he painfully realized he himself was the potted rose.

What does it matter that it bloomed profusely?

When someone else's shears come down with a snip, all that remains is to be trimmed.

"What's the point of my living…"

Wang Qigang gazed at the rose reduced to a bare stub by the shears, muttering to himself; every cell of his body exuded an aura of utter hopelessness.

Upon further thought, he felt a bit unwilling to accept it.

If he gave up on this wretched life and were interpreted by someone with ulterior motives as suicide to avoid guilt, that would truly be a grievous wrong like Dou E's.

After weighing it left and right,

Wang Qigang rushed back to the living room, picked up the phone that had been silent for three days, and dialed Deng Chunning's number—only to have the call hung up the moment it connected.

"Not answering?"

Wang Qigang dialed again; this time a system prompt came through—"Hello, the number you have dialed is turned off…"

"Trying to draw a line with me? What nonsense!"

Wang Qigang, furious, raised his right arm as if to smash the phone, but it suddenly rang. He lowered his arm and saw the caller ID showed an unknown number.

Wang Qigang immediately answered: "Who are you?"

"Secretary Wang Qigang, it's me." Deng Chunning's voice came through: "That usual number wasn't convenient for talking, so I switched to another."

"I see."

Wang Qigang's grief and indignation instantly lessened by half.

It's understandable: Wang Qigang has been pushed to the forefront, and the Central Organization Department has yet to decide his fate—whether promotion or demotion remains uncertain.

Before this uncertainty is resolved,

Someone as shrewd as Deng Chunning would certainly not openly meet with Wang Qigang.

Wang Qigang spoke frankly: "Deputy Provincial Deng, if I weren't feeling suffocated, I wouldn't want to call and bother you. Now I just want to know—how likely is it that I'll be laterally transferred to Nanzhou?"

"Don't rush; Secretary Jiang has already exchanged views with the Central Organization Department. If nothing unexpected happens, they should come talk to you in the next couple of days." Deng Chunning replied.

Wang Qigang, anxious, sped up his speech: "Tell me the truth—is the chance of my lateral transfer to Nanzhou zero?"

"Secretary Wang Qigang, don't speculate wildly before the Central Organization Department announces the final result." Deng Chunning said.

Wang Qigang grew more gloomy as he listened: "Are you afraid I can't handle the blow because of my heart? Or, having weighed credibility, you don't want to reveal the truth? Frankly, just now you switched to an unknown number and called me back—I already know the situation. If things weren't dire, you wouldn't dare avoid my call."

"Since you already know, why ask so much?"

Deng Chunning's tone was very helpless.

After a brief pause,

Deng Chunning sighed repeatedly: "When your wife was taken away, I urged you to voluntarily apply for a position at the provincial People's Congress, to retreat to the second line and temporarily avoid the spotlight. You didn't listen, insisting on confronting Lin Dongfan to the end. Now it's come to this—Lin Dongfan hasn't used his background resources to crush you completely, which is already lenient."

"So according to you, I should still thank the Lins?!" Wang Qigang's neck flushed with anger.

Deng Chunning earnestly advised: "Wang Qigang, your impatient temper that can't tolerate loneliness really needs to be changed."

"My wife's corruption has nothing to do with me! I was completely unaware—why should I have to apply for refuge at the People's Congress like a grandson?"

Wang Qigang grew angrier and angrier—suppressing his impatient temper? Impossible!

He shouted: "I admit I had ulterior motives in promoting Wan Xiaoqing! But Lin Dongfan helped the Mortal Group swallow the Zhao Group, protecting Ye Jiaying at every turn—does he have no self‑interest?!"

"What evidence do you have to prove he has self‑interest?"

Deng Chunning asked offhandedly, leaving Wang Qigang speechless.

Wang Qigang suppressed a laugh for a while before forcing out: "If I had evidence, I wouldn't have ended up in this situation!"

"Since there's no evidence, just swallow your words." Deng Chunning said: "Stay patient at home, wait for the Central Organization Department people to come talk to you."

"I've been suspended for three days already, and these three days no one has contacted me; this is not the usual style of the Central Organization Department." Wang Qigang anxiously burned, couldn't help but ask again: "Deputy Provincial Deng, tell me the truth, are the higher-ups investigating me?"

"You ask me, I ask who?"

Deng Chunning said: "Earlier, to speak up for you, I already offended Jiang Secretary. For such a confidential matter, how could he possibly tell me?"

"!!!"

Hearing Deng Chunning say that, Wang Qigang's emotions plummeted into an abyss.

He plopped down onto the sofa.

He no longer wanted to continue the call.

He felt his judgment should be correct; the higher-ups were definitely investigating his issue. Otherwise, the Central Organization Department people would not have gone so long without coming to talk to him.