The next few days, Meiying tried even harder to act normal. She smiled more, talked more, and tried to be the old Meiying that Weiliang knew. But it was like trying to put a band-aid on a big cut it just didn't cover it.
Weiliang was still being nice, still doing things for her, but she could feel the tension between them. It was like a thick fog that wouldn't go away. Every time she looked at him, she felt that twist of guilt in her stomach. Every time he touched her, she pulled back just a little, even if she didn't mean to.
One evening, they were sitting on her porch, watching the sun go down. Weiliang had brought over some of his mom's famous dumplings, and they'd eaten them in silence mostly. Meiying knew she should say something, anything, to break the ice, but she didn't know what to say.
"Meiying," Weiliang said suddenly, breaking the quiet. "We need to talk."
Meiying's heart jumped. She looked at him, and he was staring at his hands, like he was trying to find the right words.
"About what?" she asked, her voice sounding a little shaky.
Weiliang looked up at her then, and his eyes were full of worry and something else, something like hurt. "About what's going on with you. You've been different ever since you went to Yue Hua Group. You're distant, you're quiet, you barely even look at me sometimes. I know you said you're just tired, but… I don't think that's all it is. Is there something you're not telling me?"
Meiying's mind went blank. She knew this was coming, but she still wasn't ready for it. She opened her mouth to say no, nothing's wrong, but the words got stuck.
"I told you, Weiliang," she said finally, trying to sound firm. "I'm just stressed. With the money, the land, and everything that happened with Dad. It's a lot, you know?"
Weiliang shook his head. "It's more than that. I can feel it. And it's not just since you came back from the city. It's been building up for a while now. Ever since you first met that guy Li Yuhan. You've been different ever since then."
Meiying felt a flash of anger, even though she knew she had no right to be angry. "So what? I met him, I talked to him, I sold him the land. That's all it was. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"
"Because I love you!" Weiliang said, his voice getting louder. "And I'm scared. I'm scared that I'm losing you, Meiying. I'm scared that something happened between you and him, and you're not telling me. Did something happen? Did he do something to you? Or… or do you have feelings for him?"
The question hit Meiying like a punch in the gut. She stared at Weiliang, her eyes wide. How could he ask that? How could he even think it?
But then she thought about the kiss. She thought about how she'd felt when Yuhan touched her, how she'd thought about him every single day since then. And she realized she couldn't answer him honestly. Because if she said no, she'd be lying.
"Of course not!" she said, but her voice wavered, and she looked away from him. "I don't have feelings for him. He's just… he's just someone I had to deal with. That's all."
Weiliang watched her for a long time, and she could see the doubt in his eyes. "You're not looking at me," he said quietly. "You always look at me when you talk to me. But now… you won't even meet my eyes."
Meiying felt tears pricking at her eyes. She wanted to tell him the truth. She wanted to say, Yes, something happened. We kissed. And I liked it. And I don't know what to do about it. But she couldn't. She couldn't hurt him like that.
"I'm just tired, Weiliang," she said, her voice breaking. "I'm tired and I'm stressed and I don't want to fight. Can we just not do this right now?"
Weiliang sighed, and he looked so sad. "I don't want to fight either, Meiying. But I can't keep pretending that everything is okay when it's not. I love you, and I want to be with you, but I can't be with someone who's keeping secrets from me. I need to know the truth."
"There is no truth!" Meiying said, standing up now, her anger getting the better of her. "There's nothing to tell! Why don't you believe me? Is it so hard to believe that I'm just having a hard time? Is it so hard to just give me some space?"
"Space?" Weiliang stood up too, facing her. "You want space? You've been pushing me away for weeks, Meiying! I've been trying to be patient, I've been trying to understand, but I can't do this anymore. I feel like I'm talking to a stranger. I feel like you're not even here with me."
"Well, maybe I'm not!" Meiying blurted out, and then she clapped her hand over her mouth, shocked at what she'd said.
Weiliang's face fell. He looked at her, his eyes full of hurt and disbelief. "What?" he whispered. "What did you just say?"
Meiying shook her head, tears now streaming down her face. "I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it, Weiliang. I'm just… I'm just confused. I'm so confused."
Weiliang took a step back from her, like he'd been burned. "Confused about what? About us? About me?"
"No! No, it's not that," Meiying said, reaching out to him, but he pulled away. "Weiliang, please. I love you. You know I love you. I just… I just have a lot on my mind right now. Please, just give me a little more time. I'll get through this, I promise."
Weiliang looked at her for a long time, and then he nodded slowly. But his eyes were still full of pain. "Okay," he said quietly. "I'll give you time. But Meiying… don't make me wait too long. Because I don't know how much more of this I can take."
He turned around and walked down the porch steps to his car. Meiying stood there, watching him go, feeling like her heart was being torn apart. She wanted to run after him, to tell him everything, to fix it. But she couldn't. She was stuck. Stuck between the truth and the lie, between the love she'd always known and the feelings she couldn't control.
As Weiliang's car drove away, disappearing into the night, Meiying sank down onto the porch steps and cried. She knew that things would never be the same between them again. That fight had broken something, something that might not ever be fixed. And she knew she knew that this was just the beginning of even more trouble.