Qiuye (full name: Mu Qiuye, Chinese: 木秋叶 “Autumn Leaves”) is a spirit dhole and a student in Class 3 of Grade 5 at Zhizheng Primary School. She serves as the Chinese representative for her class.
Origin
Qiuye was once a wild Tianshan Dhole (scientific name: Cuon alpinus hesperius, conservation status: Endangered) from the Qilian Mountains in Qinghai Province, China. She became a spirit animal when she was a cub and lost many of her natural instincts. After being separated from her pack during a snowstorm, she met Yanhua the spirit wolf, who was also alone. Together, they hunted for preys and begged for food from humans, traveling all the way to Zhenyang County in Gansu Province. The local spirit animal association found them and provided them basic training as spirit animals. Coordinated by the China Spirit Animal Congress, they went to Dongguan for schooling. Qiuye was assigned to Libbie’s Class 3 alongside Mingzhu the Spirit Shark.
During her journey, Qiuye was treated with kindness by a family of the Hui people. She took the surname Mu from the family, and named herself Qiuye (Autumn Leaves) after her fur color. She also identifies her ethnicity as Hui ever since. Each summer vacation, she travels to the Qilian Mountains in search of her pack and visits the Mu family, helping them with farm work for a few days.
Personality
Qiuye is a shy, introverted girl who always worries about making mistakes. She often appears clumsy and prefers to plan ahead and prepare thoroughly. However, when things don’t go as expected, she becomes flustered.
Although Qiuye is usually timid and indecisive, she becomes bolder and more assertive with Leiting and Mingzhu by her side. Among the trio, she is the true leader who makes all the plans, earning her the nickname “the brain” from her competitors.
Qiuye has a strong self-awareness as a spirit animal and feels embarrassed when treated like a pet by humans. In contrast, her older sister Yanhua eagerly seeks affection like a dog. Qiuye is uncomfortable with the negative reputation of dholes in Chinese tradition, which labels them among the “four most evil creatures,” and is determined to be a “good dhole.”
People often mistake Qiuye for a common Chinese rural dog, fox, or wolf, and few can recognize her as a dhole. She takes issue with this and corrects their mistakes every time.
Specialties
Qiuye is a smart and diligent student with excellent scores. She tutors Leiting and Mingzhu after school, helping them grasp key concepts and complete their homework before they play together. With her support, the two manage to perform just above average. Libbie sees great potential in Qiuye as a future teacher.
Qiuye loves reading, especially ancient books. Having read many texts by spirit animals, she possesses extensive knowledge about their inheritance and lost spells. However, she has yet to verify the authenticity of this information.
Qiuye can skillfully cast many spells, but she always adheres to the book’s instructions, unlike Leiting, who can be more flexible and playful.
Qiuye takes planning and prepping very seriously, always carrying all kinds of items in her bag. Leiting makes fun of her striking resemblance to a popular anime character, “Doremi the Robot Dog from the Future.”
Qiuye has a thick, multi-layered fur coat that provides excellent cold resistance. However, she struggles with the humid heat of southern China and prefers to stay in an air-conditioned room during summer.
Life
The local spirit animal association arranges for Qiuye and Yanhua to live together, intending for the older Yanhua to care for Qiuye. However, it turns out that the more mature Qiuye ends up taking care of the unreliable Yanhua instead. They reside in an old apartment owned by the now-defunct Dongguan Diesel Engine Factory in Xuanjiao Community.
Qiuye formed a trio with her classmate Leiting the Sprit Loong and Mingzhu the Spirit Shark. They often go on “adventures” in the city, uncovering secrets left by other spirit animals or assisting the local Spirit Animal Association with community services.
Because Leiting and Mingzhu struggle with classroom learning, Qiuye often gives them extra tutoring after class to help them maintain barely average scores.
Qiuye is the Chinese Representative of Class 3.
Qiuye is deeply concerned about the declining Tianshan dhole population and is determined to help her species thrive again. She actively participates in tending the class garden and orchard, and often seeks advice from Libbie on ecology-related matters.
Qiuye and Yanhua often help out at the Guancheng Spirit Animal Association headquarters.
Relationships
Yanhua the Spirit Wolf is Qiuye’s elder sister, though they are not blood-related. As cubs, they roamed the wilderness of northwest China together, forming a strong bond in the process. However, their personalities differ greatly. Despite being younger, Qiuye is more mature and thoughtful, often caring for the immature and emotionally needy Yanhua. For Qiuye, it is quite embarrassing to see Yanhua transforming into animal form, begging for attention and being walked like a dog.
Qiuye and Leiting the Spirit Loong live in the same neighborhood and have been classmates since first grade. Qiuye was often bullied, but Leiting always came to her aid. Qiuye admires Leiting’s passion and confidence and wishes to be like her, though she finds Leiting’s unpredictability and recklessness quite frustrating. In turn, Leiting respects Qiuye’s knowledge and appreciates her tutoring.
Mingzhu the Spirit Shark and Qiuye were assigned to Zhizheng Primary School together by the local Spirit Animal Association. Although Mingzhu’s bloodthirsty nature sometimes frightens Qiuye, she always looks after her simple-minded friend to keep her spirit animal identity hidden. Qiuye prepares emergency snacks for Mingzhu to prevent her from eating classmates when hungry and provides extra tutoring after class to help her catch up. Mingzhu appreciates Qiuye’s care and never shows aggression towards her. She enjoys transforming into her animal form and asking Qiuye for head pats. If Qiuye is bullied while Leiting is not around or cannot handle the situation alone, Mingzhu will come forward to her aid.
Alice and Qiuye both love reading and often share their thoughts on the books they’ve read. As a robot, Alice reads incredibly fast but tends to be impatient and shallow in her understanding. She gains valuable insights from Qiuye’s perspective on the same book. Meanwhile, Qiuye benefits from Alice’s extensive reading volume to discover good books. This way, they have become excellent reading partners.
Libbie the Spirit Oryx is the head teacher of Qiuye, and she consider Qiuye to be one of her most trusted and intelligent students. They share a passion for agriculture. Libbie recognizes Qiuye’s potential and teaches her everything she knows. Qiuye admires Libbie and feels happiest when praised by her.
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