A Moon and a Cicada - Chapter 1

In August, the temperature in Zhangzhou was just right. After a light drizzle, the air was filled with the scent of fresh vegetation. Song Zhi finally had a moment to appreciate the weeping figs passing by the car window.

“I’ve really troubled you this time, Lawyer Song, Lawyer Li.” A middle-aged man in the passenger seat wearing glasses turned back with a polite smile.

Song Zhi withdrew her gaze from the window. “It’s no trouble. Li Pu will follow up with you on the specific materials later.”

Her tone was professional and crisp, leaving no room for small talk.

Beside her, a fair-faced “boy” looking through materials on a laptop looked up and nodded at the General Manager of Sida Group. Though this “Lawyer Li” had a buzz cut, she was a girl through and through. Her handsome, androgynous appearance often led to confusion—the General Manager had made an embarrassing gaffe during their first meeting because of it.

Silence fell over the car again.

An hour later, a black BMW X5 pulled smoothly into the terminal of Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport. The middle-aged man got out to help them with their luggage.

“Thank you for your hard work. Let’s keep in touch. Until next time.”

“It’s our job. Safe travels.”

Song Zhi leaned down slightly to bid him farewell and watched as the car drove off.

“Finally over! Master, thank goodness we got into the car quickly. Otherwise, those migrant workers at their company gate would have pelted us with eggs,” the young Li Pu said, still shaken. She threw her suit jacket over her arm and trailed behind Song Zhi with her suitcase.

Song Zhi remained unphased. She checked her phone. “Let’s get the tickets.”

They didn’t have much—no need for checked bags. Coupled with the good weather, the two were traveling light. Their week-long business trip was finally coming to an end.

After passing security, Li Pu bought two drinks and handed one to Song Zhi, who was busy typing on her keyboard. “Thanks,” Song Zhi said, taking it.

“Master, tell me… just how much money does that group owe those workers?” Li Pu unscrewed her cap and sat down. Beneath her dress pants, a pair of childish, colorful patterned socks peeked out from her ankles. She took a large gulp of water.

Seeing Song Zhi didn’t answer, she leaned in with a “I’ve seen the truth” expression. “They don’t look like they’re short on cash. The boss’s private Buddhist hall was practically paved in gold!”

“And don’t get me started on their cafeteria—the vegetarian food was amazing! How do they make vegetables taste that good?” Li Pu’s mouth watered at the memory.

“That’s because they used lard and chicken broth.”

“What?! Pah, pah! Those damn capitalists!”

Song Zhi wondered when she would finally mature. Li Pu had been calling her “Master” for four years. She remembered when Li Pu first joined the firm with a buzz cut and a hip-hop outfit—Boss Wang had almost fired her on the spot. She showed up looking “professional” the next day, though her floral tie was a bit much. After a few years of being beaten down by society, the floral ties were gone, replaced—in Li Pu’s words—by floral socks: her last silent rebellion against this “bastard society.”

Song Zhi shook her head, her fingers flying across the screen. “Is your report finished?”

“No,” Li Pu sat up straight.

“Write it, fast. Old Man Wang wants it the moment we land.”

“What?! How am I supposed to finish that? Old Man Wang really is a soul-sucking capitalist. We finally come to Xiamen and I didn’t even see the ocean!” Li Pu’s complaints came in waves.

“Just write.”

The airport speakers droned on, announcing the names of late passengers. Everyone else was lost in their own world, ears plugged with headphones.

Office workers were easy to spot. Unlike the tourists on vacation, the suits and shirts meant work was ongoing. Song Zhi finished archiving the files from the trip, compressed them, and sent them to the boss’s email right before boarding.

The flight was on time. During the three-hour journey, Song Zhi hoped to catch a nap. Just as she closed the window shade, the girl in the seat next to her got excited.

“Ahhh! My Shulin is on set! Look! The costume reveal for Yesterday’s Clear Sky!” The girl by the aisle ignored the flight attendant’s safety briefing and leaned over.

The girl in the middle seat leaned in, zooming in on her phone. “Qin Jiusheng?! Oh my god! It really is those two! They are so beautiful!”

“Excuse me, we are taking off soon. Please turn off your electronic devices or switch to flight mode,” the flight attendant urged.

“Save it quick! This visual pair is the peak of modern idols!”

“After that whole Hang Che incident with The Ethereal River, I thought they’d be affected. Thank god! I’ll go vegetarian for a month if this drama becomes a hit! Please let my Shushu’s luck turn around!” The girl prayed sincerely.

Song Zhi thought of the Sida Group’s “vegetarian” food Li Pu mentioned and stifled a smile. If it tasted like that, going vegetarian for a month wasn’t so bad.

The girls gossiped the whole way. Song Zhi understood; she had idols too back in university. But at her age, she simply didn’t have the energy to “stan” anyone.

The noise gave her a headache. She had zero interest in celebrity gossip. The world of an adult consisted of car loans, mortgages, work, and clients.

These days, celebrities and influencers came and went so fast she could barely distinguish their faces. Only a handful were truly household names. While she had a vague impression of the names mentioned, she couldn’t match them to a face.

They arrived in Beijing near 8:00 PM and went straight to the P2 parking lot.

“Ugh, when will I ever be able to buy a car?” Li Pu slumped in the passenger seat of Song Zhi’s car, looking listlessly at the taillights ahead that looked like a string of candied haws.

The East Fifth Ring Road was a parking lot. “Even if you buy one, you won’t get a license plate number in the lottery. Stuck here like this, you’re better off on the subway.”

“Master, you’re ‘the full man who doesn’t know the hunger of the starving.’ Having a car is great—you get your own private space after work.” Li Pu fantasized as if she were already in the driver’s seat.

Song Zhi glanced at her. “Aren’t you single? Can’t you enjoy ‘private space’ at home?”

Dream shattered, Li Pu sat up. “That’s different! The apartment is rented, but a car is yours. Besides, I haven’t paid enough into social security to buy a house yet…” She shifted uncomfortably. “Beijing real estate is too expensive. I’ll never afford it in this lifetime.”

“Don’t be so pessimistic. When Old Man Wang first came to Beijing, he had nothing. Look at him now.”

“He’s also bald. Never mind—I’d rather lose my head than my hair.” Li Pu made a “No” sign with her arms.

Song Zhi laughed. She looked out the window and saw workers—”spidermen”—pasting a giant poster onto the side of a building. A female celebrity held a lipstick in a sexy pose, her lips curved enticingly.

“Oh, isn’t that the artist from Lawyer Long’s client’s company?” Li Pu followed Song Zhi’s gaze, her voice tinged with slight disdain.

The last corner of the poster smoothed out. The small print read: Popular Star — Shu Mei.

Song Zhi glanced at it. “An actress?”

“Master, you really do live under a rock. All you do is litigate. She’s one of the hottest rising starlets right now.”

“Oh. Does she need a lawsuit?”

“You… you!”

Song Zhi replied calmly, “Legal departments for entertainment companies usually just send out lawyer letters. Reputation cases don’t pay much in commissions. I’d rather spend that time on a divorce asset split or a corporate contract dispute.”

“Master, you really are… money—” Li Pu caught herself. “—lawsuit-hungry!”

The drive was tedious, so Song Zhi turned on the radio. A sweet voice drifted through the speakers. “Star News Daily, I’m your old friend Xiao Hua. Today is Monday, August 26, 2024. The modern romance drama Yesterday’s Clear Sky has officially announced its lead cast. Lu Shulin and Qin Jiusheng will play a genius pâtissier and a righteous police officer… this is the same name IP of the popular web novelist Qi Xin…”

Li Pu was getting drowsy. Seeing a road sign, she shouted, “Master! Drop me at the subway station at the next exit!”

Song Zhi almost slammed on the brakes. Four years, and she was still a brat. Other than her hair being slightly longer, her brain hadn’t grown an inch.

“Before midnight,” Song Zhi instructed as her apprentice ran toward the subway.

Li Pu turned and waved while walking backward. “Got it! Trip reports! One for you, one for Old Man Wang. Consider it done!”

With the hazard lights flashing, Song Zhi rolled up the windows, blocking out the Beijing heat. It was more humid here than in Xiamen.

She tapped the GPS. “Park 1872 International Apartments, Chaoyang District. 14.8 kilometers away. 23 traffic lights. Estimated time: 54 minutes.”

The car merged back into traffic.

After a few oldies, the radio continued: “Thank you for staying tuned. Are you on your way home? I often wonder, what kind of person wants to go home? In this vast city, is there someone waiting for you?”

This vast city.

Song Zhi was a local. Her parents lived near the West Sixth Ring Road. Beijing traffic was enough to make anyone irritable. Before the firm moved, she had rented a studio apartment where the bed was practically in the living room—and even that cost half her salary.

Beijing Tianyi Law Firm had moved to the CP Center across from the CBD earlier this year. As Old Man Wang put it, “The clothes make the man.” He even had a feng shui master check the location.

Last May, Song Zhi finally saved enough for a down payment on her own apartment. At least now her bed wasn’t the first thing you saw when you walked in. Coincidentally, the office moved nearby shortly after.

But a 26,000 RMB monthly mortgage kept her on her toes. Combined with her parents’ mortgage and her car loan, her fixed monthly expenses were nearly 40,000 RMB.

She couldn’t stand Wang Huiteng’s money-grubbing attitude sometimes, but to be fair, while he loved wealth, he was generous to his staff. His motto was: “We are in the business of justice, which occasionally requires ‘robbing the rich to help the poor’ for social stability.”

In plain English: he charged big clients a fortune and ignored small ones unless they had potential.

By securing the exclusive agency for Fujian Sida Construction Group, Song Zhi was one step closer to becoming a partner.

She knew Wang Huiteng wouldn’t actually make her or her rival, Long Bin, partners so soon—he didn’t want to lose the dividends.

To Song Zhi, Wang Huiteng was a businessman first and a lawyer second. He was a master of the “art of balance.” Currently, Long Bin’s performance was higher, yet Wang Huiteng had handed this golden opportunity with Sida to her.