After another failed prodigy training session, Jing-mei looks in the mirror and sees two faces. The first face staring back at her reflects her everyday, familiar countenance. To Jing-mei, it looks ordinary and nondescript. This makes her sad because she thinks that she will never have the exceptional face every child prodigy is supposedly born to have. Jing-mei imagines that she is a "sad, ugly girl."

The other face that she sees is the face that reflects her "prodigy" side. It is rebellious, confident, even "angry" and "powerful." It is a face that displays autonomy and personality. Jing Mei is most proud of this face because it reflects all her repressed, violent emotions about her mother's expectations. This side of her persona is the part of her that promises not to change for anybody.