A few women visibly stiffened in their seats, shoulders drawing back and spines straightening in unconscious physical reactions to the suddenly elevated stakes of the interaction. Others broke eye contact entirely, finding sudden fascination in their wine glasses or the elaborate floral arrangements decorating the tables, their avoidance itself a form of communication.
The game, for anyone still operating under the illusion that this was merely polite social interaction, had fundamentally changed. The threat had been exposed without Shuyin needing to reveal its specific contents. She had accomplished the delicate task of acknowledging the attack while simultaneously refusing to be controlled by it, turning what was meant to be private pressure into public challenge.
