Cats don't really do passive-aggression. They telegraph most emotions, especially negative ones, and intentionally so. If it's scared, it will either run away or get into a threatening stance to show it's going to attack if the thing it's afraid of keeps pushing boundaries. If it's mad enough, it'll hiss or attack. If it's irritated, it'll wag its tail or claw at a carpet. If it's happy, it'll rub its face against things and purr. Blinking slowly usually comes from being pet on the head, happiness, or being tired.
Like, it's not always that simple, but there's a pretty standard baseline to interpret cat moods by. My cat will follow me around and rub against me while purring, except when I pet her (even if she keeps purring and pushing her against me) she'll start wagging her tail because she gets easily agitated from touch. So, the positive attention outweighs the inherent irritation even though there's a visible cue coming from her reaction to touch.