The weekend couldn't come fast enough. Meiying spent the whole week getting everything ready she cleaned up the land, made sure all the paperwork was in order, and even baked some of her mom's old recipe cookies to welcome Mr. Chen. For the first time in ages, she felt like she had a plan, like she was actually moving forward instead of just standing still.
Yutang noticed the change in her too. "You look better," he said over breakfast on Saturday morning. "More like yourself."
"Really?" Meiying smiled, feeling a little warmth in her chest. "I guess I just needed something to focus on."
"Good," he said, nodding. "You've been too sad lately. It's not good for you."
She ruffled his hair, grateful for his straightforward way of seeing things. He was right she had been too sad. But today was going to be different. Today, she was going to make things right.
Mr. Chen arrived around ten o'clock in a beat-up blue truck, with a younger man she didn't recognize sitting in the passenger seat. He climbed out, wiping his hands on his jeans, and gave her a wide smile.
"Meiying! Good to see you again," he said, shaking her hand. "This here's my nephew, Xiao Ming. He's been helping me look at properties lately knows more about this stuff than I do!"
Xiao Ming waved, looking around at the fields with a serious expression. "Nice piece of land you've got here," he said. "Good soil, plenty of space. Your dad took good care of it, didn't he?"
Meiying felt a little lump in her throat at the mention of her dad, but she pushed it down. "Yeah," she said quietly. "He loved this place."
They spent the next hour walking the property Meiying pointing out where the well was, which parts grew the best vegetables, how the sun hit the fields just right in the afternoon. Mr. Chen nodded along, asking questions, while Xiao Ming took notes and snapped photos with his phone.
"This is perfect," Mr. Chen said when they got back to the house. "Just what I've been looking for. I want to grow organic vegetables here sell them at the city markets. Could make a good living out of this place."
Meiying's heart soared. It was happening. It was really happening. "So… you want to buy it?"
"Absolutely!" Mr. Chen beamed. "I'll pay you exactly what you were asking before maybe even a little extra, since you've kept it so nice."
She was about to say yes right then and there when Xiao Ming cleared his throat. "Uncle Chen? We need to talk about something first."
Mr. Chen looked at him, frowning. "What is it, Xiao Ming?"
Xiao Ming pulled out his phone and pulled up a document. "I did some checking on the land records this morning," he said, looking at Meiying with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry to say this, but… this land's already been sold. The title was transferred to Yue Hua Group two weeks ago."
Meiying felt like the ground had just dropped out from under her feet. "What? That can't be right. I… I sold it to them, but I was going to buy it back-"
"I know how it sounds," Xiao Ming said gently. "But legally, the land belongs to Yue Hua Group now. You can't sell it to us you don't own it anymore."
Mr. Chen looked between them, confused. "What are you talking about? I thought you were selling your land, Meiying."
"I was!" she said, her voice shaking. "I mean I did sell it to Yue Hua Group, but I didn't think… I thought I could buy it back if I found another buyer."
"I'm sorry," Xiao Ming said again. "But that's not how it works. Once the title's transferred, it's theirs. Unless they agree to sell it to us, we can't do anything."
Meiying felt tears stinging her eyes. All her hope, all her plans gone in an instant. She'd been so sure this would work, so sure she could fix everything. But now… now what?
Mr. Chen put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm really sorry, Meiying. I wanted this to work out for both of us. But we can't buy land that doesn't belong to you."
"It's okay," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I understand. Thank you for coming all this way."
They left a few minutes later, and Meiying stood on the porch watching their truck drive away, feeling more empty than she had in a long time. She'd gotten her hopes up so high, and now she was right back where she started maybe even worse off.
Yutang came out and put his arm around her. "It's okay, Meiying," he said quietly. "We'll figure something else out."
But she didn't know if they would. She didn't know what else to do. She'd already taken Yuhan's money she couldn't just ask him to sell the land back to her now. That would be so selfish. And what would she even say? Hey, I know I sold you the land, but I found someone else who wants to buy it, so can I have it back?
She went inside and sat at the kitchen table, staring at her phone. She knew she had to tell Yuhan what happened. She had to explain why she'd been so excited about Mr. Chen coming. But she was so embarrassed. So ashamed.
Finally, she typed out a message: "Hey Yuhan. Remember how I said I'd send those papers? I need to tell you something. A guy came to look at the land today he wanted to buy it. I forgot I don't own it anymore. I'm really sorry. I know it was stupid of me to even think about it."
She hit send and threw her phone on the table, burying her face in her hands. She expected him to be angry. To tell her she was being ridiculous. But her phone buzzed almost right away, and when she looked at it, his reply made her heart ache.
"It's not stupid, Meiying. I know you care about that land it was your dad's. If you want me to sell it to him, I will. No questions asked. Just tell me what you want."
She read the message over and over again. He wasn't angry. He wasn't even upset. He was just… helping her. Again.
She typed back: "Why are you being so nice to me? You don't have to do this."
His reply came fast: "Because I care about you, Meiying. That's all there is to it."
Meiying felt tears rolling down her cheeks. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to accept his kindness when she was still so confused about everything. When she still didn't know if she could ever be with him. When she still loved Weiliang.
But as she sat there, looking out at the land that used to be hers, she knew one thing for sure she couldn't keep running away from her feelings anymore. She had to face them. She had to make a choice. And she had to do it soon, before she hurt everyone she cared about even more.