“No!” the short, chubby man answered on his own. “So, everyone might as well see this as a temporary test from the organization for you all, understand? This is a test from the organization!”

Countless pairs of malicious eyes stared fixedly at Andrew Brooks. Even with his lack of emotional intelligence, he knew he had incurred the wrath of the crowd. This scene was so similar to when all the immortals besieged him!

“Damn, officialdom really isn’t a place for ordinary people,” Andrew Brooks was a bit dazed. Of course, he understood he was being used as a scapegoat. “Hmm, it really is a good place to train your emotional intelligence.”

At this moment, the short, chubby man threw out another deadly dagger. “This candidate, don’t you agree?”

This guy looked a bit like the purple-furred hound of the Immortal Lord Xu Shou. Andrew Brooks felt a surge of murderous intent. Do I look that easy to bully?

The dignity of a Luo Tian Immortal is not to be defiled. Using me as a scapegoat? Dream on. Andrew Brooks sneered inwardly, but outwardly he just uttered two “ah ah” sounds, his eyes full of confusion.

While making those sounds, he pointed to his own ears and shook his head, making it clear he was deaf and mute and couldn’t understand what the other party was saying!

The crowd was once again incensed, and everyone’s attention shifted to the short, chubby man. “You can actually hear a mute speak? Who are you? State your name and organization!”

Damn, you dare set me up? The short, chubby man was instantly furious, forgetting that he had just tried to use the other as a shield. He reached out, trying to grab Andrew Brooks.

Huh? He grabbed at thin air?

When he turned his head again, the former scapegoat had already vanished. Huh? Where did that guy go? There were too many people, and being short, the chubby man just couldn’t find him.

Where did he go? Andrew Brooks had already slipped out the main entrance of the registration office. To avoid this awkward situation, he even used the immortal technique “Shrinking the Earth to an Inch,” though it cost him quite a bit of hard-earned immortal energy.

Chapter 4: A Treasure for a Beauty

I think I might not have handled this very well! Andrew Brooks hadn’t gone far; instead, he stood dazed outside the registration office, lost in thought. Vaguely, he felt that pretending to be deaf and mute and using “Shrinking the Earth to an Inch” to deal with the situation just now wasn’t the best choice.

His emotional intelligence might be low, but his IQ wasn’t. Just now, should I have chosen a side and supported one of them? That way, although I’d offend one party, I’d undoubtedly win great favor with the other.

Of course, if he had to choose a side, he would definitely pick the short, chubby man’s. After all, that guy could speak on behalf of the organization—he wasn’t stupid.

He didn’t know who once said, “Only the paranoid survive.” Now, Andrew Brooks had fallen into a paranoid state, trying hard to figure out if there was a better way to handle things just now.

Forget it, no point thinking about it. No matter how much he mulled it over, he still couldn’t figure it out. He just felt that there were advantages to handling it this way too. Anyway—if I can even realize there’s a problem, my emotional intelligence must have improved!

Having thought it through, he was about to leave when suddenly a voice called out from behind, “Andrew Brooks, you signed up for the exam too?”

Andrew Brooks turned around and saw a girl with huge eyes and eyelashes long enough to sweep the floor. He recognized her—she was a classmate from his own class, a graduate of Phoenix City’s prestigious No. 13 High School, where each class had at least seventy students.

Still, no matter how many people there were, he could remember the one greeting him now—the class publicity committee member, Emily Young. She was good-looking, and what was especially rare was that she could sing and dance, making her a famously active participant in every class event.

“Oh, it’s you,” Andrew Brooks said with a beaming smile and nodded. “You’re here for the exam too?”

He felt a bit puzzled. This Emily Young, back when they were in the same class, had barely spoken to him. Why was she… so enthusiastic today?

His reaction was quite normal. Although he had resolved to improve his emotional intelligence and tried to get along better with classmates at school, old habits die hard. His bad habits had been ingrained for hundreds of years; expecting to change overnight was unrealistic.

Especially when he was distracted—though it didn’t happen often—he would subconsciously say things that were quite abrasive. So, in the eyes of most classmates, he was still a rather eccentric person. Plus, everyone was a top student with heavy workloads, so it was normal that no one wanted to interact with him much.

“Yes,” Emily Young nodded earnestly. She was one of the few in the class who hadn’t gotten into college—not because her scores weren’t high enough, but because they were just a bit too low for her preferred school, so she planned to spend another year in high school.

When she saw the civil service exam notice, she noticed a “loophole” in it and decided to give it a try. Seeing a classmate appear, she assumed he hadn’t gotten into college either, so she felt comfortable enough to greet him.

A woman becoming an official? Andrew Brooks was a bit stunned, but he didn’t say it out loud—his emotional intelligence had improved, after all.

“So, how do you feel? Confident?” As a student fresh out of school, Emily Young was still quite sincere and asked out of kindness.

“Yeah, I am. Since the materials were handed out so late, I’m even more confident,” Andrew Brooks replied honestly, not feeling there was anything wrong with what he said.