The Gift Arrived, But Not the Person

When Gu Yin came back, she stayed in her room to do practice problems. The more she did, the more frustrated she became. She tore up the paper and crushed it in her palm. Looking down, she tore it into even smaller pieces. She looked calm and expressionless, her gaze empty.

She continued to tear the paper for some time until she felt pain in her fingers. She flinched and hung her head. She got a paper cut on her finger from tearing at it so wildly. There was a trace of blood on it. Stunned for a moment, she stuck her finger in her mouth in a daze.

After a while, she picked up the pen again and continued doing problems absent-mindedly. Her strokes were heavy as though she were trying to tear through the paper.

…

The next morning, at the racecourse.