While at boarding school in Hong Kong, Adeline is taken away by her chauffeur and told that Ye Ye has died, leaving her broken-hearted but the rest of her family is indifferent. Her love for her grandfather is resonated when she reads King Lear, inspiring her to submit a work of writing for an international playwriting competition and study at an English university. However, Adeline worries over what might happen to her when she returns home and is conflicted between her decisions.
While playing with her friends at boarding school, Adeline is interrupted and taken home by her chauffeur to see her father. In his room ("The Holy of Holies"), she is informed that she has earned first place in the international playwriting competition. Delighted and surprised, Adeline gathers her courage to ask him for permission to study in England with her brothers in the field of literature and creative writing. Not surprisingly, her father immediately rejects her idea and sends her to a medical school that specialises in obstetrics. Nevertheless, Adeline is overjoyed to have the opportunity to study overseas, and agrees.
