She downplays compliments she clearly saved

She says people are just being nice, then somehow remembers the compliment weeks later. The wording, the place, what she wore, who else heard it.

That memory is the tell. People do not archive attention they truly did not care about. They may downplay it out loud, but the mind keeps the good receipts.

A little jealousy tells her the attention worked

Jealousy is not always the target, but it is powerful confirmation. If one man reacts because another man looked, she learns the attention had value.

That is why she sometimes watches the watcher. The first reaction flatters her. The second reaction tells her whether it mattered enough to shift the air.