Qiu Qi

Biodata

Background / History

Qiu Qi has known Zhuang Xin since middle school and confessed to him during high school, but he rejected her. Despite the passage of several years, she remains emotionally attached to him and has not accepted other suitors. 6 12

As an adult, Qiu Qi operates a small business with five female partners. Seeking to expand, she repeatedly attempts to obtain a storefront contract at New World Mall, visiting more than ten times without success. When she reconnects with Zhuang Xin online, she asks him for help and jokingly promises to become his girlfriend if he succeeds. 6 7

Zhuang Xin arranges for New World Mall’s Deputy General Manager Jin Hanhan to receive Qiu Qi’s group. Although Zhuang Xin leaves suddenly to address a family emergency, Jin provides the group with a prime storefront opportunity, rent reductions, and advertising benefits because of Qiu Qi’s association with him. 12 13

Later, while seeking financing for her business, Qiu Qi and her partners are lured into a debt-and-gambling trap at Teng Hui Grand Hotel. She sends Zhuang Xin an urgent plea for help; he finds her and the others facing promissory notes and coercive hotel bosses. 32 33 After Zhuang Xin forces Ma Guan to resolve the matter, he offers Qiu Qi and the women an opportunity to invest in his planned clothing company, giving Qiu Qi a path toward the independent business career she wants. 36

Appearance

Qiu Qi has changed considerably since her school years, growing into a graceful young woman. She is described as fair-faced and pretty, and she wears a black dress when chatting with Zhuang Xin from her warehouse. 6 7

• Fair, pretty face that visibly reddens when she is embarrassed or teased. 7 12
• Wears a black dress during her early online conversations with Zhuang Xin. 7
• Her appearance surprises former school acquaintances, including Xu Chi, who remembers her differently from their school days. 37

Personality

Qiu Qi is ambitious and persistent. She keeps pursuing a New World Mall storefront despite repeated failures, and she wants to grow beyond her existing small business into a company of her own. 6 13 36

She is playful and flirtatious in private messages with Zhuang Xin, but becomes shy when their past relationship or a possible romance is mentioned. Her friends recognize that she has remained devoted to him for years. 6 7 12

Though vulnerable when trapped by Ma Guan’s group, Qiu Qi still worries about causing trouble for Zhuang Xin. She is prepared to sell her warehouse and storefront to repay the debt rather than let the situation destroy him as well. 33

Relationships

• Zhuang Xin — Former schoolmate and the boy Qiu Qi confessed to in high school. She retains long-standing feelings for him; he helps her obtain a New World Mall contract, rescues her from Teng Hui Hotel, and invites her to invest in his clothing company. 6 13 32 36
• Qiu Qi’s five partners — Her friends and business associates. They accompany her during the New World Mall negotiations and are caught alongside her in Ma Guan’s debt trap. 13 32
• Jin Hanhan — Deputy General Manager of New World Mall. Jin personally handles Qiu Qi’s storefront arrangement after learning she was sent by Zhuang Xin. 13
• Zhang Cui — A domineering business rival who dismisses Qiu Qi’s ability to compete for a New World Mall storefront. 12
• Ma Guan — General Manager of Teng Hui Hotel and the leader of the group that exploits Qiu Qi and her partners through loans and gambling. 32 33
• Xu Chi — Zhuang Xin’s cousin, who remembers Qiu Qi from school and repeatedly teases her by calling her Zhuang Xin’s “sister-in-law.” 37 39
• Lu Kang and Zhao Hong — Suppliers from Lingwei Company who know Qiu Qi through business and express interest in investing in her project. 37 38

Story Role / Major Arcs

New World Mall Storefront

• Reconnects with Zhuang Xin through social media under the name “Qianshui Rouqing” and requests help securing a New World Mall contract. 6
• Waits for him at the mall, unaware that he has left to handle a family crisis; nevertheless, she follows his message and meets the mall staff. 12
• Receives preferential contract terms from Jin Hanhan, including reduced rent and advertising support. 13
• Thanks Zhuang Xin after the contract is finalized and takes the initiative to invite him to dinner. 16

Teng Hui Hotel Debt Trap

• Seeks financing with her partners but is manipulated into borrowing money and gambling with Ma Guan’s group. 32
• Sends Zhuang Xin a distressed message asking for help. When he arrives, she tearfully turns to him for protection. 32
• Urges Zhuang Xin to leave rather than endanger himself, even as she faces overwhelming debt. 33
• Is freed from the crisis through Zhuang Xin’s intervention and receives an investment opportunity in his future clothing company. 34 36

Business Ambitions

• Reveals that she has taken on a major order and wants to establish her own company. 37
• Gains a potential route to become a shareholder through Zhuang Xin’s clothing-company proposal, aligning with her ambition to become an influential businesswoman. 36