The days after Weiliang left blurred together into one big, gray mess. Meiying went through the motions woke up, did chores, helped Auntie Wang at the shop, ate dinner with Yutang but it felt like she was just going through the motions. Her heart wasn't in it.
Weiliang kept his word: he gave her space. No texts, no calls, no showing up at her door. At first, Meiying told herself it was a good thing. She needed time to think, after all. But as the days went by, the silence got louder and louder. She'd find herself staring at her phone, waiting for it to light up with his name, but it never did. And the worst part was… she couldn't even blame him. She'd pushed him away. She'd been the one with the secrets, the one who couldn't be honest.
And then there was Yuhan. His message kept replaying in her head, too. I don't want to pretend anymore. I want to be with you.
She hadn't replied to him. She couldn't. What was she supposed to say? Yes, I want to be with you too, even though I'm still in love with my boyfriend who just left me? It didn't make sense. But even so, she couldn't bring herself to block his number or tell him to leave her alone. A tiny, stupid part of her was glad he felt that way. It made her feel wanted, even when everything else felt like it was falling apart.
One afternoon, Auntie Wang noticed she was moping around the shop, folding the same piece of cloth for the tenth time.
"Meiying, honey," Auntie Wang said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You've been like a ghost for weeks now. Is it that boy? Weiliang? Did you two have a fight?"
Meiying looked up, forcing a weak smile. "Something like that. We're just, taking a break."
Auntie Wang sighed, shaking her head. "Ah, young love. It's never easy, is it? But you know what? If he's the right one, you'll work it out. You just need to give it time. But don't let it eat you up inside, okay? Life goes on."
Meiying nodded, but she wasn't so sure. Life was going on, sure, but she felt like she was standing still while the world moved around her.
Later that day, she got a call from Old Mr. Chen, the man who'd said he might be interested in buying her land a while back. She'd almost forgotten about him she'd assumed he'd found something else by now.
"Hello? Lin Meiying?" his voice crackled over the phone.
"Yes, that's me. Hello, Mr. Chen."
"I was just calling to see if you'd still be interested in selling that plot of yours," he said. "I ran into some money issues a while back, but they're sorted out now. I'd still like to take a look at it, if you're free. I can even come by this weekend."
Meiying's heart jumped. This was it! This was what she'd been waiting for! Even though Yuhan had already paid her for the land, she'd been feeling guilty about it like she'd taken the easy way out. If Mr. Chen really bought it, she could… well, she didn't know exactly what she'd do, but it felt like a chance to fix things. To do it the way she'd originally planned.
"Yes! Yes, I'm free," she said, her voice getting a little brighter. "You can come anytime. I'll be here."
They hung up, and for the first time in weeks, Meiying felt a spark of hope. Maybe this was her sign. Maybe things were finally going to start getting better. She could sell the land to Mr. Chen, pay Yuhan back, and then maybe she could fix things with Weiliang. Maybe she could get her old life back.
She almost texted Weiliang right then to tell him the good news. But she stopped herself. He'd asked for space. She shouldn't bother him. But she couldn't help feeling a little lighter, anyway.
That evening, she was sitting on the porch, looking out at the fields, when her phone buzzed again. She picked it up, and her heart did that stupid flip it always did when she saw the name.
Li Yuhan.
She hesitated, then opened the message.
"I know you're busy, and I know you said you needed time. But I just wanted to say… I'm here. Whenever you're ready to talk, I'm here. No pressure. Just wanted you to know."
Meiying stared at the words. He was being so… nice about it. So patient. It made her feel even more confused. Why couldn't he just be a jerk? Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Then it would be so much easier to ignore him.
But he wasn't. He was being sweet, and understanding, and it made her heart ache in a way she didn't want to admit.
She typed back a short reply: "Thanks. I'm okay. Just dealing with some stuff. I'll let you know."
She hit send and put the phone down, letting out a long breath.
Mr. Chen was coming this weekend. She had to focus on that. She had to focus on getting her life back on track. She couldn't let Yuhan's messages distract her. She couldn't let her feelings for him ruin everything she had with Weiliang.
But as she sat there, watching the sun set, she knew it wasn't going to be that easy. Because even as she planned for Mr. Chen's visit, even as she hoped to fix things with Weiliang, she couldn't stop thinking about Yuhan's words. I want to be with you.
And she had a horrible feeling that no matter what she did, those words were going to keep echoing in her head, getting in the way of everything she tried to do.