He had originally planned to apply to a university in another city—there would be more freedom that way. However, his mother’s tearful eyes made him change his mind immediately. Fine, Phoenix College was actually pretty good.

That was what he thought, but the idea of having to study for another four years gave Andrew Brooks a bit of a headache. If you study too much, don’t you just become a bookworm? That seemed to run completely counter to his plan of developing his emotional intelligence.

In the blink of an eye, it was the day for new students to enroll. Andrew Brooks refused his parents’ offer to accompany him and dragged his suitcase alone to the gate of “Phoenix College.”

Looking up at the four big characters “Phoenix College” above, which were supposedly written by some celebrity, Andrew Brooks sighed and strolled in, swaying slightly.

He had barely taken a few steps into the school when a group of people surged up behind him—five or six young students, crowding around a girl like stars surrounding the moon. Some were trying to chat her up, some were helping with her luggage, all making a noisy entrance.

This girl was really popular. Andrew Brooks’s curiosity was piqued, and he glanced at her a couple of times. He was tall, so his view wasn’t blocked by the people around him.

Seriously? She’s not even as good-looking as 痱子, he thought—not the little bumps people get on their skin, but Grace’s maid, whom Andrew Brooks had nicknamed 痱子.

He turned his head and noticed a boy looking at the group with envy, so he went up to strike up a conversation. “Senior, who’s that girl? She’s not that pretty, right? Why are so many people crowding around her?”

His mouth was still as blunt as ever, but he had toned it down quite a bit.

The boy glanced at him warily and ignored him, but a girl nearby—who was even less attractive than the one in the center—spoke up. “Her dad’s in business. She’s rich, that’s all.”

A businessperson? That’s a path, Andrew Brooks nodded silently. Businesspeople deal with people a lot. Maybe I should become a businessperson to train my emotional intelligence?

He was still pondering this when another group came by. Again, a girl was at the center, but this time, not only were there five or six boys around her, there were even three people who looked like teachers.

This one must be a beauty, right? Andrew Brooks looked up, and his stomach immediately churned.

For someone who had once been a Luo Tian Immortal to feel this nauseated, the girl’s looks must have been truly devastating.

“How strange, such an unattractive woman,” after a while, he finally managed to control his emotions and shook his head lightly, “how could she be even more popular than the last one?”

“Her dad is the deputy director of the Labor Department,” a female voice explained quietly from the side.

It was the same girl who had spoken earlier. Clearly, she was a bit interested in Andrew Brooks. He was tall and reasonably good-looking, but most importantly, in order to cultivate his emotional intelligence, he always wore a bright, sunny smile, which was quite dazzling.

“Oh, thank you,” this time, Andrew Brooks didn’t forget his manners. See, my emotional intelligence has improved again, hasn’t it?

The next moment, he fell into deep thought. Becoming an official… that seems like it would train my emotional intelligence even more, right?

Andrew Brooks wasn’t very worldly, but he wasn’t stupid. Thinking back to the “The Deer and the Cauldron” he had casually flipped through recently, a sudden realization dawned on him.

He had no respect for the martial arts described in that book, but the author had made a few insightful remarks that made him feel a sense of awe—when it comes to the treachery of human hearts, nowhere is worse than brothels and imperial palaces!

So, the officialdom must be full of danger at every step!

Danger at every step? At this thought, Andrew Brooks felt a surge of excitement for no reason. Fine, officialdom it is. I’ve decided—I’ll go mix in officialdom. If I stay there long enough, my emotional intelligence will surely make a qualitative leap.

So, do I still need to go to college?

Why bother? Isn’t going to school here just a waste of time? Andrew Brooks was a very opinionated and individualistic person. He turned around and dragged his suitcase away. “I’m going to be an official. I’m not going to school.”

Unfortunately, the girl who liked to butt in overheard this. Watching his departing figure, she was utterly stunned. “Seriously? A high school graduate—how can you be qualified to be an official without a diploma? Are you out of your mind?”

Regrettably, this comment was not heard by the excited Luo Tian Immortal. Right now, he was completely focused on how to explain things to his parents.

But the world is just that unreasonable. That girl never dreamed that in 1996, Phoenix City would begin piloting the civil service exam!

Because this was the first time Phoenix City was holding the exam, everyone was feeling their way through. Maybe it was to embody the government’s principle of “selecting talent without sticking to one pattern,” maybe it was an oversight, or maybe there was some other reason, but in any case, there were no educational requirements for applicants!

As soon as this news appeared in the “Phoenix Daily,” Andrew Brooks immediately took his stash of pocket money and rushed to sign up. He really couldn’t stand his parents’ nagging anymore—he had to become an official as soon as possible.

Chapter 3: Shrinking the Earth into Inches

What Andrew Brooks didn’t know was that there was a bit of trickery behind this “civil service exam” pilot.