Male, late 20’s-early 30's, American accent. An eccentric private investigator who collaborates with the local police. Brilliant and knows it, a certified genius, except when it comes to emotional and social aptitude. Often comes off as uncaring and tactless, not out of malice but because there’s a job to do and no time to waste. Being albino and an expat in a foreign country, he is used to being different and disliked. Familiarity with Mandarin pronunciation is preferred but not required.

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(Character's lines in bold)

“Let’s start with your name, Xiao-jie.”

Jubilee eyed his pale arms and couldn’t help thinking that the older people on the bus must’ve labeled him as, quite literally, the derogatory term bai-gui—white devil. “Wong Zhuli,” she lied automatically, giving the same answer she had since entering the country. “What’s this about, Law Xian-sheng?” She needed to figure out what he wanted with her so that she could leave, as quickly as possible.

He measured her for a long moment. Then, switching abruptly to English, he asked, “Are you American, Miss Wong?”

She jumped. “Um, er—” Be cool. It wasn’t like he’d accused her of doing anything illegal. Yet. “Yes,” she said in English. “How did you know?”

“You have a very slight accent.” The man leaned back in his chair. “That, and you carry what the Chinese call an ‘American aura.’” Jubilee must’ve looked offended because he added, “Most people might not notice. I just happen to be quite good at observing details. Part of my job description.”

She took a deep breath. This guy weirded her out, but maybe if she cooperated she could get out of this interrogation faster. She’d still be late, but not too late. “Mr. Law,” she said. “What did you want to ask me?”

“Before we get to that, would you mind telling me your American name? Just for the record.”

She did mind. “Julie,” she said. It wasn’t a total fib. To the kids at the orphanage, that was her American name—the direct transliteration of her Chinese name.

“Fitting.” His unblinking gaze was starting to make her eyes water. “What brings you to Beijing?”

~*~

"Despite it being considered the 'Harvard of China,' it'll be an easy matter to pull some strings and get you accepted as a foreign exchange student. Since we need to place you in the same classes as the suspect, your cover story will be that you earned high enough marks on the language test to be eligible for classes taught in Mandarin. Be sure to make that believable and blend in amongst the students."

As much as Jubilee had hoped to avoid revealing her insufficient language skills, it was time to swallow her ego if she wanted to escape assignments and term papers. Cautiously, she confessed, "I'm not sure my Chinese is good enough to pull that off." College students, after all, were not orphaned preschoolers.

"It isn't," he replied bluntly, much to her chagrin. "Which is why I will tutor you outside of class."

Her jaw dropped. A white man—in the most literal sense of the word—was going to tutor her in Chinese?

Her mother must be rolling in her grave.

"We will include language lessons in your job training," he went on, either not noticing her appalled expression or pretending not to. "Which will be during normal nine to five work hours, whenever you are not attending school with the suspect."

School, Chinese lessons, and job training? Nine to five? Jubilee had never worked a nine-to-five job in her life. "What happened to giving me space?" she demanded, panicking.

His look was one of measured patience. "You'll have that once you have completed training and can demonstrate competence in the job."

Pushed to her limit, she lost all sense of tact. "So, I'll be stuck with you until then?"

Now, now, be nice, Hellenos called out.

Detective Law's expression had turned mildly condescending. "You can hardly expect otherwise. Your Chinese needs work, and—as you put it yourself, so very accurately—you have no experience or training."

She looked at him with fury. Why don't you tell HIM to be nice? she thought toward Hellenos.

Not my department.

Her fists clenched to refrain from throwing something. "Now, hold on a second," she protested. "Is tutoring really necessary? You just said you'd plant me as a foreign exchange student. It's not like I have to pass for a native, and honestly, my Chinese isn't that bad." She paused. "Is it?"

The man eyed her coolly. "Your speech is somewhat passable," he acquiesced. She wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. "But it will look suspicious if you are allowed to take those classes and yet are unable to demonstrate reading comprehension skills."