Chapter 59: Uninvited Guest

"How do you want the Ceremony to be?" Evan asked, smiling again.

Lumi then realized that he really did smile a lot around her.

She had once thought Evan Caesar was the type of person who barely showed any emotion. Cold, distant, and difficult to approach, especially when compared to the way he behaved during his Rampages.

But whenever he was with her, she seemed to see a different side of him.

Sometimes it was only a faint curve of his lips, while other times he would smile without even realizing it.

’Does he really smile this much? Or only in front of me?’

Lumi stared at him for a moment longer before quickly looking away. "I... don’t know."

"You don’t know?"

She shook her head. "I’ve never attended a Fated Bonding Ceremony before."

Evan raised an eyebrow. "Neither have I."

Lumi looked at him in surprise. "You haven’t?"

"No," Evan answered shortly.

"But you’re an SSS-Rank Sentinel..."

Evan frowned slightly.

"What does being an SSS-Rank Sentinel have to do with me going to a lot of Fated Bonding Ceremonies?"

"Ah..." Lumi gasped, realizing that he had a point. She suddenly chuckled.

"I thought maybe you might have gone to one of your colleagues’ ceremonies."

Evan shook his head. "Not once."

Lumi blinked before letting out a small laugh.

"Then maybe something simple is enough..." She paused, thinking for a moment. "I searched through the internet, and it said that a Fated Bonding Ceremony actually isn’t anything much to a Sentinel and Guide."

Evan raised an eyebrow. "Which source is that?"

Lumi blinked. "Uh..."

Realizing what he meant by the question, her cheeks instantly flushed.

Evan noticed the sudden change in her expression.

"Don’t tell me..."

"I didn’t watch that streamer this time!" Lumi immediately defended herself. "I searched through Guiditopia!"

Evan stared at her for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh. "I didn’t even say anything yet."

Lumi’s cheeks grew even warmer. "I know what you were going to say."

"I’m just teasing you..." He smiled again.

Then the whole room suddenly fell quiet as both of them fell into silence.

"Can I ask you something?" Lumi suddenly broke the silence.

Evan looked at her. "Ask away..."

"The other day, I heard Leon tell Raphael that the machine wouldn’t make a mistake..."

"Machine?" Evan tilted his head in confusion.

"You know... the machine that decides who the Fated Guide and Sentinel are..."

Evan’s expression changed slightly. "Oh... that machine."

Lumi nodded, "Yes. The one that confirmed me as your Fated Guide."

Evan leaned back against the sofa, thinking for a moment. "What about it?"

"Leon said the machine wouldn’t make a mistake." Lumi hesitated before looking directly at him. "Is that true?"

Evan didn’t answer immediately.

Lumi continued, her voice quieter.

"Because... if the machine really can’t make a mistake, then why did it choose me?" She looked down at her hands.

"I don’t have detectable Guiding energy. Everyone in my family knew that. Even the doctors said I wasn’t a Guide."

Her fingers slowly curled together, "So how could that machine say that I’m your Fated Guide?"

Evan’s expression became serious. "You know how the Fated Guide test works, right?"

Lumi nodded.

"Every family in the Empire is required to have their children tested once they reach eighteen. A small blood sample is taken and entered into the Fated Connection System. The machine compares it against the registered Sentinels and Guides."

"And if it doesn’t find anyone compatible?"

"Then they wait."

Lumi blinked. "Wait?"

"Until a compatible Fated Guide or Sentinel appears in the system." Evan leaned back slightly. "If someone reaches twenty-five and still hasn’t been matched with anyone, the Committee strongly encourages them to accept an arranged partnership, especially if they’re a Sentinel whose condition could become unstable without a Guide."

Lumi nodded slowly.

"That makes sense..." She paused before looking at him again. "So you really believe that we are compatible with each other?"

Evan looked at her for a moment before a small smile appeared on his lips.

"What do you think?"

"Well..." Lumi shifted her eyes away from Evan. "I feel like we really clicked from the moment we met—"

"You mean the time I choked you?"

The question immediately made her stare at him.

Then both of them burst out laughing.

After their laughter gradually faded, Evan stood up from the sofa and stretched slightly.

"I’m thirsty."

He walked toward the kitchen, intending to grab a glass of water, but stopped when he reached the kitchen island.

A neatly prepared lunch was already sitting on the table.

Evan blinked. He looked at the food, then slowly turned his head toward Lumi, who was still sitting on the sofa. "Did you make this?"

Lumi looked over and nodded. "I thought you might be hungry when you came back."

Evan glanced at the dishes again. "You made all of this?"

"It’s not that much..." Lumi finally stood up, heading toward the kitchen too.

There were several dishes arranged neatly across the island, along with a bowl of soup and a glass of water already prepared for him. Lumi had clearly put some thought into the meal, even though she seemed embarrassed by the amount of food sitting in front of him.

Evan stared at the food for a moment before looking back at her. "You’ve been busy."

"Not really." Lumi pulled out the chair beside him and sat down. "I just had nothing else to do while you were at the headquarters."

"You could have rested."

"I did rest." She paused before adding with a small pout, "But resting all day gets boring."

Evan’s lips curved slightly as he picked up his chopsticks.

"So you decided to cook?"

"I thought it would be better than watching the news."

His hand paused briefly.

"The news?"

Lumi immediately looked away.

"They kept talking about you."

Evan let out a quiet sigh, already understanding why she had turned off the television earlier.

"Then next time, just watch the Guide streaming..."

Lumi slowly looked back at him. "The Guide streaming?"

"Mm." Evan calmly picked up another piece of food. "You seem to learn a lot from them."

Her expression instantly became awkward. "Evan! That was just one time I watched that kind of streaming, I genuinely didn’t know anything about that stream—"

"I know..." He pinched her cheek unconsciously, "You are adorable..."

Lumi froze and the atmosphere turned awkward.

The sudden sound of the doorbell saved and broke the quiet atmosphere.

Lumi turned toward the entrance, blinking in confusion.

Evan looked up from his meal. "Were you expecting someone?"

"No." Lumi shook her head. "Were you?"

"Not that I know of."

The bell rang again, this time followed by several impatient knocks.

Lumi glanced at Evan before standing.

"You’re eating. I’ll get it." She walked toward the entrance, wondering who would visit them without warning.

When she opened the door, however, she barely had time to react before a woman around Evan’s age suddenly threw both hands into the air with a bright grin.

"Surprise!"