Lanny

Biodata

Background

He Xue came from China to study in London. His mother is a forensic examiner and his father a police officer; hearing about their work gave him familiarity with criminal investigations. He is the eldest child in his family and finds it difficult to seek comfort or accept others’ kindness 12 13 30.

After his arrival, Inspector Lestrade questioned him about an explosion and released him without charge. He Xue discovered that his rented address was not a residence and that his luggage was missing. With only £500, he rented a converted study from Mrs. Hudson at 221B Baker Street, paying one week’s rent initially 2.

He chose “Lanny” on the spot when Lestrade asked for an English name, treating it as a convenience for people who found He Xue difficult to pronounce. Although he preferred his Chinese name, he later told Sherlock he would use Lanny while in London 2 13 15 18.

Appearance

The manga depicts Lanny as a black-haired young man with a slender figure 31.

Personality

Lanny is quiet around others and initially has little interest in socializing. He sometimes struggles to understand what triggers other people’s emotions, and he prefers not to argue over opinions he considers irrelevant. Nevertheless, he values the care he receives from Watson and Mrs. Hudson, even when accepting it makes him uncomfortable 2 8 26 30.

He can act decisively despite fear: during an ambush, he tackled an armed attacker threatening Watson. He is also wary of becoming dependent on others; the kindness of the Baker Street household leaves him both afraid of attachment and reluctant to give it up 9 38.

Abilities & Skills

Mathematics

Lanny studies mathematics at the University of London and later works as a temporary teaching assistant for four lecture courses 19 33.

• In a manga preview, he proposes two ways to introduce randomness into an inevitable event: changing its probability-based description or combining it with a random event 24.
• He helps Professor Moriarty prepare discussion-class materials and works on calculations for Asteroid Mechanics 35 45 46.

Investigation and forensic work

Lanny assists Sherlock with cases and laboratory experiments, drawing in part on knowledge acquired from his parents 12 19.

• He swabs four corpses and records data for Sherlock’s experiment 19.
• Aboard the Noah, he uses a staged book-finding game to gain Maren Flynn’s trust; her response to his questioning reveals that she knows her husband is dead 44.
• Sherlock warns that Lanny’s habit of inferring facts from other people’s presumed thoughts can lead him to the wrong conclusion 45.

Manga and forum access

Lanny reads a manga depicting events involving people around him, along with readers’ comments. The updates provide information and interpretations he uses to assess danger, though readers sometimes misunderstand his actions 16 24 31.

• Readers mistake his avoidance of the Workhouse explosion for evidence that he spotted the plot; Lanny says he was only identifying landmarks 16.
• A preview featuring Moriarty makes him fear that he is being targeted in a university incident 24.
• Readers’ discussion of Moriarty’s present-tense description of their relationship gives Lanny hope that their cooperation will continue 32.

Relationships

• John Watson — Lanny’s roommate and first friend in London. Watson supports him through investigations and worries about his wellbeing; Lanny regards him as the person closest to him in the city 9 21 27.
• Sherlock Holmes — Lanny’s roommate and investigative partner. Sherlock involves him in cases and forensic experiments, and their relationship grows from wary indebtedness into mutual concern 10 19 25 48.
• Mrs. Hudson — His landlady, who rents him a room and encourages him to rely on others. Her affection helps him feel at home at 221B 2 30 38.
• Mycroft Holmes — Sherlock’s brother, who questions Lanny about Sherlock and warns him not to take advantage of him. He later drives away a person following Lanny and brings him home 13 24 25.
• Professor Moriarty — Lanny’s mathematics professor. Wary of Moriarty, Lanny approaches him to establish a temporary peace; they subsequently cooperate and discuss mathematics 21 30 32 35.
• Inspector Lestrade — The officer who questions and releases Lanny after his arrival. Lestrade later offers him an inheritance case and questions him about Lily Schneider’s murder 2 11 28.
• Lucian Attwood — A fellow student who helps cover for Lanny’s claim that he has friends at university and later invites him aboard his family’s cruise ship, the Noah 27 39.

Story Role

Workhouse and Rhodes cases

Lanny accompanies Sherlock and Watson to investigate an explosion at a relief station where human remains were found. While searching near the Thames, he and Watson are lured into an ambush. Lanny is stabbed in the hand and pushed into a drainage channel; he wakes in hospital the following day 5 8 9 10.

After giving a statement and identifying the suspects, Lanny delivers a note from Sherlock to Lestrade, who offers him a missing-inheritance case with a £500 reward. During the investigation, Sherlock identifies Qiaosen as a killer. Rhodes returns five pounds he had taken from Lanny, who keeps the note as a memento 11 15.

University and the murder investigation

Lanny attends orientation at the University of London but avoids Moriarty’s lectures because the professor makes him anxious. After a manga preview suggests danger at the university, Lanny is followed on a dark road until Mycroft’s returning car scares off the pursuer 19 21 24.

Lestrade later questions Lanny about the murder of Lily Schneider, his main scholarship competitor. Lanny has been cooperating with Moriarty to secure a temporary peace; during the investigation, other students come forward with accounts supporting his library alibi. Sherlock confronts Moriarty about his connection to Lanny, and the investigation concludes 28 30 31 32.

Life at 221B and the *Noah*

After a dinner celebrating his academic success, Lanny decides that he wants to stay at the flat and writes to Mycroft saying he no longer wants to leave. He later tells Sherlock that he plans to move into student accommodation after the holiday; Sherlock advises him not to rush a decision he cannot yet make 38 42.

Lanny accepts Lucian’s invitation to the Noah on the condition that Watson and Mrs. Hudson also come. Aboard, he helps Sherlock investigate Maren Flynn, arranges for Watson to attend the feverish Moriarty, and accepts a challenge from fortune-teller Valentine Butler. After acting against Sherlock’s plan to expose the Lord of Crime group, Lanny apologizes; Sherlock tells him to be himself and lends him his scarf 39 44 45 46 48.

Trivia

• Lanny is afraid of snails, despite being accustomed to forensic work. Sherlock discovers the fear and tries to use a snail to frighten him 37 38.
• He prefers reading several books at once and tells Watson that this is how he likes to study 21.
• The snowy walk home after his celebratory dinner is the first time he has seen snow 38.