"Put you on leave? Why?"
Xu Qiang froze for a moment, then seemed to realize something. Forcing a smile, he said, "You don't need to worry about me. There isn't much pressure on my end. How could personnel decisions possibly be swayed by public opinion?"
"I'm not worried you can't handle it."
Lu Bai rose and walked to the window, glancing down at the cordon set up below the Inpatient Department.
In a matter-of-fact tone, he said, "Right now, I'm not only unconcerned that the higher-ups will put pressure on us, I even suspect they wouldn't approve it if you tried to fire me."
Xu Qiang fell silent on the other end of the line. Lu Bai had made his meaning so clear that Xu Qiang couldn't possibly have misunderstood.
Put simply, this wave of public opinion had already turned the Special Affairs Bureau against the people.
Online arguments were about positions, emotions, and volume, not the truth.
After all, truth didn't matter in the court of public opinion.
The public had decided that the Special Affairs Bureau was up to no good and was mired in bureaucracy.
If everyone online said so,
then even if it wasn't true, it might as well be.
As time went on, if Lu Bai still wasn't fired, the public's resentment toward him—and even the Special Affairs Bureau—would only grow.
If someone then added even more explosive material to the mix, who knew what might happen once the people worked themselves into a frenzy?
"So you should fire me first. We're already a little late in responding."
Lu Bai calmly added, "I hope I'm wrong."
It was already too late to come forward with a clarification or an apology.
At first, he'd thought the mayor's side had stirred up public opinion simply to pressure