In 2023, Zeng Yalun quits his job at an internet company in Shanghai and returns to his hometown to start a business. While renovating an old steel mill into a guesthouse, he unexpectedly discovers countless connections to Lin Xiaoxiao, the partner of a children's picture-book library. Lin Xiaoxiao is now a children's picture-book author, but she's lost hearing in her right ear. Reunited, they recover their old memories through the used books on the guesthouse shelves and the hidden codes in her picture books. But Lin Xiaoxiao faces a dilemma: cochlear implant surgery requires a family member's consent. The guesthouse is also threatened with demolition, and what pains Zeng Yalun most is discovering the truth about his father reporting Lin Xiaoxiao's father for infidelity years ago.
Faced with so many obstacles, can they resolve the bitterness they've carried for years? Can the things they never said as teenagers, and the moments they let slip away, be made right after their reunion? Told in two timelines, The Cicadas' Song That Summer blends the character of a small western city with symbols from the early days of the internet, such as internet cafes, Martian-language blogs, and online farming games. Through innovative techniques like sound montages and internet archaeology, it weaves nostalgia together with reflections on the difficulties of communication, composing a first-love story filled with regret and growth, misunderstandings and forgiveness. It depicts the emotional struggles and self-redemption of adults trying to rekindle an old romance.
Theme: How first love reshapes our understanding of relationships as adults.
