"I'm a-- private investigator." (That wasn't exactly wrong, it was his day job anyway.) "There was a, uh, miscommunication about whether something was a US government project." (Xue Yang was allowed to torture his foster family to death and you don't want people to hesitate when a sorcerer is torturing someone to death because they might be an employee of the US government. Delta Green tried to recruit him afterward and he told them where exactly they could stick their paycheck.)

...She pulls over. She can't drive during this. Thankfully, Los Angeles being the city that it is, there is abundant space. "So it was performed during the course of his employment, and you were viewed as a threat to US Government personnel, assets, or objective. But Xue Yang was still willing to cite you as a character reference, and you seemed inclined to help solve whatever the problem was. What changed?"

"I don't know why Xue Yang is willing to list me as a character reference. Maybe he thinks it's funny. Maybe he's actually trying to give you an accurate assessment of his character, for mysterious Xue Yang reasons."

"I see." That was probably horribly insensitive! "Do you have any reason to think he might be loyal to any foreign nation?"

"I don't have any reason to think that Xue Yang is loyal to anyone? Like, if he did decide to betray you to-- the Chinese or the Russians or whoever you're worried about-- he's going to go betray them right back as soon as it amuses him. I assume that slimy little handler of his is good at his job."

"His handler did give the impression of being very competent, yes." Why is her day like this? "So, horrifyingly unstable, prone to random acts of cruelty, and loyal to at best one person." Normally, there would be other questions. Normally there would be many things. But it's clear to her that it really does not matter in the slightest what she says. "Can you think of any warning signs that would indicate that Xue Yang might become unstable" more so than usual, she lefts unsaid "or particularly attractive incentives foreign agents might offer?"

"Two people. He's loyal to Xiao Xingchen, God knows why." Song Lan is so tired. "But Xiao Xingchen is from the plateau of L-- from an isolated monastery high up in the mountains where no one ever leaves or interacts with the outside world, so I think they're not really a threat on the betrayal to foreign nations front."

OK. That's convenient, really. Not adding another person to the list. She can take the rest of the day off. This is far worse than having a cold. "That is one of the most reassuring things I've heard today. Thank you, Mr. Song."

"Uh, he blinded me because I tried to stop him from taking his revenge on someone he wanted to hurt, so... probably let him hurt people? I guess?"

"That one's less reassuring. Normally I think I'd ask you a few more questions, but we've covered an impressive amount already. Is there anything else you think I should know?" Hopefully she can just...take thirty minutes to process.

"Xue Yang has incredibly bad taste in anime and he will not shut up about it which is honestly almost as bad as the rest of the torture."

"Thank you, Mr. Song. Have a nice day!"

She's done. Alright, she should probably get off the highway, find a nice parking spot somewhere, and just decompress. That's reasonable. She can do this.

Los Angeles has more parking spots than it has people. She doesn't have much trouble finding a convenient one.

Meng Yao was obviously lying about Xue Yang, but she's a professional. Sometimes people lie to you to try to get what they want. Particularly when your business is investigating their darkest secrets. 

Xue Yang...is a terrible person. A terrible person who possibly shouldn't get a security clearance, but apparently people trust Meng Yao. She can put that in her report "Xue Yang will likely remain low-risk so long as Meng Yao is not compromised." That sounds nice and formal.

Alright. He's terrible. But it isn't her problem. She knows the government does some questionable things. That doesn't mean that America isn't a shining force, that the world doesn't genuinely need a policeman. She used to have an aunt in Yugoslavia. She barely remembers her. Now there is no aunt, no Yugoslavia, and an entire country that owes its life and existence to NATO(1) and the USAF(2). "But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep", she recites to herself. And she heads home, catching the 10 to the 405 to the 101(3) to swing by her grocery store for some raspberry sorbet and a redbox movie that she's forgotten by the time she shows up to the office the next day. The Gossip Girl reruns were more fun, after all.

1: North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Why it includes Turkey is left as an exercise for the reader.

2: United States Air Force.

3: Yes, people in LA actually talk like that. 

She's walking into her office, clothes a shade more casual since she's not going out on any interviews today, just doing paperwork and a few calls. No Xue Yang, no torture, no blinding, just making sure that things go properly. It's going to be a good day.

There is a man in her office.

He is wearing hiking boots (muddy), a flannel shirt (muddy), and a blindfold (clean, but with the general aura of having been washed in a river); his hair (pristine) falls to his shoulders. His facial features recall words like "noble" and "heroic" and "angelic". He has two swords slung across his back. They ought to look ridiculous, like the kind of fantasy sword a teenage anime fan lusts over at a convention. They mostly look like they can kill you. 

He shines. 

He doesn't literally shine, but there is something about him, an aura, that makes her feel like he glows. She can almost hear the background music playing behind him. When she looks at his face, she recalls childhood memories: riding horses, a mountain jutting into a pinkening sky, the first time she opened a fantasy novel and saw vistas of a world she had never before imagined, the longing to see what is beyond the next horizon.

She looks thrice. She looks at the floor. She looks at his somehow pristine hair. She somehow looks past him.

She sighs thrice. Once for his face, once for her childhood fantasies, and once finally for the question she knows the answer to, somehow.

"Are you here about Xue Yang?"

"Yes, ma'am," he says, and holds out his hand. "I'm Xiao Xingchen. I understand I'm supposed to provide a reference?"

(It doesn't seem to have occurred to him that he shouldn't carry swords in a government facility.)

She shakes his hand. A light grip: someone like this might take a firm one as a pissing match, and she is not prepared to win one with the extremely unfairly attractive man who just showed up in her office.

How he got past security and into her office is something she has Decided To Ignore. Maybe she'll get a reprimand for not noticing that he doesn't have a badge, but there is *no possible way* that this could be an internal security evaluation. This is Xue Yang related nonsense. If he got in, he can presumably get out.

"Yes. Please, take a seat. Can I get you anything? We have water, and, uh, I think some of Jane's cookies are still in the common area."

He has a very endearing smile. His smile makes you want to reconsider your life choices and be a better person. It's the kind of smile you'd imagine Superman having when you were a little kid. "Some water and cookies would be lovely."

She gets lost in the smile, a little bit. She really should call her sister back tonight and catch up. She goes and gets the cookies and water. She sees Tim and decides to not bother even attempting to explain what is going on, just "meeting, sorry" and she's back with a plastic cup of water and cookies (one peanut butter, one sugar) in a napkin. They feel inadequate to serve this intruder to her office. "Here you go, enjoy!" She assumes he will hold his hands out and she can place them in his hands, and if she enjoys it a little bit more than she should, well, she's busy and her last boyfriend was a loser and it's been six months and a woman can appreciate, surely, even on the job. It isn't like he can see, at least.

He eats them very politely. "Do you have questions for me about a-Yang?"

"How long and in what contexts have you known Xue Yang?"

"About a year. He melted my boyfriend's eyes," Xiao Xingchen says, as if this is a normal thing for people to say. 

"Your boyfriend Song Lan?" The hope is strong. She does not want to face Xue Yang having blinded *two* people and not facing any consequences for it because he is apparently too good a hacker to ignore. The disappointment, well, it wasn't like the (gorgeous) (stunning) (inspiring) attractive man in front of her was likely to be single, or even straight with her luck.

"Yes. I don't think he's melted two people's eyes yet, he doesn't seem to like it that much." Om nom nom cookies. "And then he decided he hated me forever and was going to swear an eternal vendetta."