“Be careful, I heard quite a few people have already been pre-selected,” Emily Young leaned in and whispered to him, the youthful aura of the girl washing over him without any barrier.

“You need to work hard too,” Andrew Brooks whispered back, though he felt a bit annoyed inside. Huh? There’s actually talk of pre-selection? How can something so unfair happen?

“It’s fine, there’s an examiner inside who’s really nice to me,” Emily Young blushed. There was something she didn’t say out loud: that examiner asked me to go to his house tonight for tutoring.

“Examiner?” Andrew Brooks was a bit dumbfounded. This was a serious problem. That short, chubby guy—if he’s the examiner, then he’s already made an enemy. “Isn’t this the registration area? Why would there be an examiner here?”

“Who knows?” Emily Young had thought about it too. That person might not really be an examiner. But failing the college entrance exam this time had hit her hard. Even though she knew that “tutoring” at night probably wasn’t a good idea, what if things weren’t as bad as she imagined?

Wouldn’t that mean missing out on an opportunity?

This couldn’t just be left alone. A cold smile appeared on Andrew Brooks’s face. He already knew it was wrong to leave university so rashly. If he just sat by and watched others get “pre-selected,” as a high school student wanting to become an official, he’d probably have to repeat his senior year and only think about it again after college.

There’s no one in this world qualified to take advantage of Andrew Brooks. Suddenly feeling wild and defiant, he thought, Pre-selection? Hmph, let’s see what happens. Disturbing someone’s cultivation is far more serious than cutting off their livelihood!

Having figured this out, he looked up, but Emily Young was already gone. Scanning around, he finally spotted an incredibly beautiful figure walking away into the distance.

Someone’s looking out for her, so I probably don’t need to worry. At that moment, he felt carefree again and turned to head home.

Wait! Suddenly, he realized something. She had just told him such important information—if he didn’t show some gratitude, wouldn’t that mean he lacked emotional intelligence?

“Emily Young, wait for me,” he called out as he chased after her. A bespectacled guy by the roadside dropped his glasses with a “clatter.” “Isn’t that the deaf-mute from earlier?”

“What is it?” Emily Young had called out to him several times before leaving, seeing him so absent-minded. Now, seeing him catch up, she was a bit puzzled.

“These examiners might not be good people,” Andrew Brooks had already thought of what to say. “You got the materials so late—can you really catch up with your review?”

“What can I do?” Emily Young sighed deeply. After this question, she was even more determined to go for “tutoring” that night. “Everyone’s in the same boat.”

“I’ll give you—no, lend you something good,” Andrew Brooks looked around to make sure no one was watching, then took off the tiny Sumeru Ring from his hand. “This thing, you use it like this…”

Watching his demonstration, Emily Young was stunned for a full ten minutes before she reacted. She covered her mouth in shock. This Andrew Brooks really is a weirdo—how could he have something so… so outrageous?

The next moment, she realized a serious problem. Yes, very serious. She immediately became wary. “You’re lending me something so valuable… why?”

“You’re my classmate,” Andrew Brooks smiled at her openly. “If classmates don’t help each other, that’s just not right, is it?”

“Then what about you? What will you do?” At that moment, Emily Young truly felt the warmth of friendship between classmates.

“Me? Of course I can handle my own review,” Andrew Brooks’s little tail was wagging again. This was emotional intelligence, but it also fit his personality.

“I scored over 640 on the college entrance exam this time…” With that, he strode off proudly.

“Over 640, not going to college, but taking the civil service exam?” Emily Young was even more dumbfounded. This guy… really is a weirdo.

Chapter 5: Strange Questions

The next day was the written exam. There were two tests. One was on basic subjects—political economy, materialism, and so on. For students who had just graduated from high school, this really wasn’t a big problem.

The other test was a bit trickier. All the questions came from those reference materials, and most of them were fill-in-the-blank or explanation questions, which really surprised the candidates.

Only the last big question was an essay, and that was the only one unrelated to the materials.

Some were happy, some were upset. After leaving the exam room, some people cursed through gritted teeth, while others were in high spirits. Without a doubt, Andrew Brooks was one of those in high spirits.

“Hmph, good thing I spent some immortal energy to store all the books in my mind. That little price was worth it.”

Emily Young was in a good mood too. She even finished the test early and waited for Andrew Brooks at the exam site entrance.

Andrew Brooks spotted her right away. After all, they were classmates. He walked over with a smile. “Hehe, you’re here to return my thing, right?”

Why does he talk like that? Emily Young was a bit stunned. Yes, she was here to return his thing, but… shouldn’t you at least make some small talk first, like asking how I did on the test?