can I lose weight while gaining muscle on a calorie deficit?

hello, everyone! my goal is to lose weight, but i also want to build muscle. my plan was just to rely on cardio and a calorie deficit to get to my ideal weight and then start lifting weights. i was able to lose weight quite quickly (lost 30 pounds in 3 1/2 months and i’m 5’1) in the past with just pure cardio and a calorie deficit; however, i definitely lost whatever muscle i had and felt a bit weak afterwards. and now i’m back to where i started before :/

everyone tells me that eating in a calorie surplus is how you build muscle BUT (and i know this is irrational), but i get discouraged seeing the scale go up even if it might not even be fat gain. if i’m fat now, can my body rely on the fat stores to compensate for the caloric deficit? i’m afraid of gaining more weight and/or overeating :-(

thank you for reading all of this!