Once Emily had forcefully made Lu Jun-hui leave, the room fell into a brief silence, punctuated only by the faint click of the door closing behind him. The two women exchanged awkward smiles—Li Na's tinged with a touch of shameless amusement, Emily's laced with quiet exasperation.
"Well," Li Na said after a moment, her voice light with feigned innocence, "that was subtle."
Emily's lips twitched into a reluctant smile, "Subtlety isn't exactly Jun-hui's forte," but then she found herself responding in kind, her tone softening, her guarded demeanour loosening—something she rarely allowed. "Though I suppose I wasn't much better, throwing him out like that. He probably thinks I hate him now. Honestly, the brat's as naive as a child sometimes."