He keeps rescheduling last minute but sends tons of emojis

The emoji pattern is the part to read first. Someone who wants to see you usually puts their effort into the plan itself, even if the plan is small. Someone who sends a stack of crying-face and heart emojis after cancelling is often expressing a mood without taking on the job of scheduling. That does not make him a bad person, and it does not prove he is lying about liking you. It means his warmth is cheap to produce, and the number of emojis tells you nothing about whether a date will happen.

Look at what he does when he has to commit. Does he suggest a specific day, a time, and a place? Or does he say "we should do something soon" and leave it open? The rescheduling is the signal. Count how many times it has happened and how close to the plan time it lands. Two or three last-minute moves with no concrete replacement plan is a clear pattern, even if each individual cancellation sounds reasonable.

A good reply does three things. It acknowledges that the cancellation landed, so you do not look like you are pretending it was fine. It keeps the friendly tone, so you are not punishing him for being affectionate. And it asks him to put a concrete plan on the table, meaning a day and a time he can actually hold. Each of these moves should be short. You are not writing a speech.

The third move is the one that does the work. Asking for a specific plan turns the exchange from a mood into a decision. You will either get a real date, or you will get another vague answer, and both outcomes tell you what you need to know. Do not add a lecture about reliability in the same message, because that gives him a fight to argue with instead of a plan to confirm.

Reply when you are not annoyed, not at midnight, and not in the first ten minutes after the cancellation. A calm reply the next day usually reads as more confident than an instant response that sounds rattled. If he has not answered your plan question within a day or two, send one short follow-up that names a specific option, like a time this week you could do. That is the last effort on your side.

If he still does not commit after that, stop chasing. Do not send a third nudge or a passive-aggressive comment about being ignored. Let the lack of a plan be the answer. Two or three cancellations followed by no concrete date is a reason to step back, and you do not owe him more explanation than that.