When Missy left that place, she thought that if she wanted to understand a place better, she should go to a bookstore and read history books.
So she asked Bryson to take her to a bookstore.
There, they unexpectedly ran into Wren and Gael.
"Wren, didn't you say you came here to find a good poetry book?"
Gael looked at Wren, who was looking all over the bookstore but still hadn't found a book he liked. He started to feel a little anxious.
At that moment, Wren was feeling a bit down. He had just passed the scholar exam and wanted an excuse to come out and relax.
But his older brother Gael insisted that he keep studying, not even allowing a short break.
"Brother, can't you just let me rest for a while?"
Wren stopped walking and complained with frustration.
Bryson walked into the bookstore with Missy. The first thing they saw was the two brothers arguing.
He quietly motioned to Missy to look around while he went to greet them.
Missy nodded in agreement.
She turned to explore the bookstore, and the smell of books in the air caught her attention.
The shelves were full of books, arranged neatly in rows.
Curious, she walked closer and picked up a book from the shelf.
But the bold three characters on the page looked completely strange to her, like a code she couldn't understand.
She suddenly felt a little upset. Was she really illiterate now?
She gave a soft bitter smile and gently put the book back in its place.
At that moment, she accidentally looked toward Bryson's direction.
She saw Bryson immediately turn his head to look at her, like he had been watching her the whole time.
Bryson then walked toward her.
She understood right away that he had only gone to greet the two brothers briefly.
"Did you find a book?"
Bryson asked in a gentle voice.
Missy slowly shook her head, and there was a hint of sadness in her eyes.
Bryson suddenly guessed that Missy might not recognize the writing here.
He felt a thought rise in his heart and asked in a warm voice,
"Missy, are you looking for a certain kind of book? Tell me and I'll help you find it."
He planned to teach her how to read little by little after finding the book.
Just then, a cheerful voice broke the quiet.
"Missy!"
Wren popped out playfully from behind Bryson like a naughty child.
His face was bright with a big smile, and his eyes were fixed on Missy.
Bryson turned his head and frowned slightly as he looked at the two brothers behind him.
Finally, he looked at Gael with a questioning expression, as if to say,
Why did you bring him here?
Gael gave a helpless shrug, showing that he couldn't do anything about it.
Actually, Gael had noticed earlier that Bryson was paying attention to Missy.
He became curious. What kind of girl could make Bryson act like that?
So when Wren said he wanted to come, Gael went along with it and brought him too.
Ever since last time, Wren had been very curious about Missy.
Now he finally had the chance to see her again.
While Bryson wasn't watching, Wren walked over quickly and happily, unable to hide the excitement on his face.
"Missy!"
He called out to her again, full of warmth and a feeling like they already knew each other.
"Do you remember me? I'm Wren!"
But Missy frowned a little and corrected him.
"Wren, my name is Missy, not your Missy. Please don't call me that."
Wren was slightly stunned.
His eyes couldn't help but fall on the identity tag on Missy's wrist, trying to find an answer from it.
Missy noticed his confusion and said calmly,
"This identity tag doesn't mean anything. I don't accept it."
Bryson stood nearby, quietly watching Wren and Missy's interaction, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
He interrupted their conversation,
"Wren, stay here and look after her for me. I need to step out for a moment."
Before he even finished his sentence, he had already turned and left with Gael,
leaving only Wren and Missy behind.
Wren's eyes widened. He was surprised by his teacher's sudden departure,
and even more shocked that such an important task was left to him.
He looked at Missy in confusion, hoping to read something from her expression.
But Missy appeared completely calm, as if none of this mattered to her at all.
Wren hesitated for a moment and said,
"Um, Missy..."
Before he could finish, Missy firmly interrupted him.
"I already told you, don't call me that. You can just call me Missy."
Wren scratched his head a little awkwardly,
but strangely, he felt a little happy inside.
Honestly, deep down, he didn't want to call her Missy either.
Trying to ease the awkward silence, he looked around,
trying to think of something to say.
Missy, on the other hand, kept her eyes fixed on the bookshelf,
as if searching for something.
Finally, she was the one who broke the silence. She turned to Wren with a request,
"Wren, could you help me find some books about the history of Qi Country?"
Wren responded without hesitation,
"Absolutely."
He quickly searched through the bookshelf,
and soon found a book he thought Missy would be interested in.
Missy took the book and saw the title on the cover: "History of Qi Country,"
with pinyin annotations included.
Her face lit up with a look of surprise and joy.
When she opened the book and saw that every page also had pinyin next to the text,
her heart was overwhelmed with excitement.
The pinyin helped her feel connected to the modern world,
and made her feel a glimpse of hope for returning home.
Maybe, just maybe, she could really go back to her own world.
She was so moved that she grabbed Wren's hand, her voice trembling slightly,
"Why is this book different from all the others?"
Wren was caught off guard by Missy's sudden closeness.
It was the first time he had been so near a girl.
A faint blush appeared on his cheeks,
and he unconsciously rubbed his earlobe,
then answered a little shyly,
"This is a rare book written by our founding emperor. He also created and promoted our official language. For people of Qi Country, this book is very special."
Just as they were both caught up in their conversation,
a sharp voice full of anger suddenly rang out,
"What are you two doing?"
Bryson had returned, and this was the scene he walked into.
In his hands was a large bundle,
and because of his anger, he accidentally dropped it.
Clothes and jewelry scattered all over the ground.
It turned out he had gone out to visit Gael's clothing and accessories shop,
carefully picking things out for Missy.