Chapter 65: The Three Stages II

Evan remained silent for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain it without making the situation sound worse than it already was.

"I wasn’t going to proceed with all the stages."

Lumi slowly looked back at him. "You weren’t?"

"No." Evan shook his head. "I knew she wasn’t you, so I was going to stop at the first stage."

Lumi blinked. "The first stage?"

"Fated Recognition." He leaned back slightly against the headboard, his expression becoming more serious as he explained.

"The first stage is where the Fated Connection responds to both the Sentinel and Guide. If the person standing in front of me wasn’t my actual Fated Guide, the connection wouldn’t recognize her."

"So..." Lumi thought about it for a moment. "You already knew she wouldn’t pass?"

"Of course, I was certain." His answer came without hesitation.

"Then why did you still let the ceremony begin?" Lumi’s voice was quiet, more curious than accusing.

Evan’s eyes lowered slightly.

"Because your family had already gone that far." He paused, "I wanted to see what they were planning to do."

Lumi stared at him.

Evan continued before she could misunderstand.

"I wasn’t agreeing to replace you. I simply wanted to confirm whether they were actually trying to force the situation through, or whether there was something I didn’t know."

His gaze returned to hers.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Evan quietly asked, "So... are you still okay with continuing the ceremony?"

Lumi blinked. She seemed to need a moment to understand what he was asking. "The ceremony?"

Evan nodded. "Especially after knowing what the third stage involves."

Lumi’s gaze slowly dropped. Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the blanket.

"Is it something like kissing?"

"Kind of." Evan bit his lower lip, seemingly having some difficulty finding the right words. "But it wouldn’t be a light kiss. It’s usually... deeper."

He scratched the back of his neck before adding awkwardly, "And sometimes, some pairs might cross the kissing line... ahem."

He cleared his throat, then did it again as though that would somehow make the explanation less awkward.

"Cross the line?" Lumi looked at him for a moment before understanding what he meant. "You mean... doing what couples do?"

She might have been innocent and inexperienced, but she wasn’t so innocent that she couldn’t understand what he was implying.

Evan’s expression stiffened slightly.

Lumi frowned as another question immediately came to mind. "Then... do they do it in front of everyone?"

Evan’s eyes widened. He blinked once, then again, trying to digest the genuinely serious question that had just come out of her mouth.

"Err... no." He quickly shook his head. "Actually, some pairs only go that far inside their mental space. But for those who choose to take it further physically..." He paused, clearing his throat once more. "When the ceremony enters the third stage, a barrier usually forms around the pair."

"A barrier?"

"Mm. Similar to what happens when you Guide me and enter my mental space. Once the connection reaches a certain depth, the barrier separates us from everyone outside."

"There is?" Lumi genuinely looked surprised before realization slowly appeared across her face. "That’s why..."

She thought back to the few times she had been pulled into Evan’s consciousness. Whenever it happened, everything outside seemed to disappear completely, leaving only the strange mental world surrounding the two of them.

"So when the Guiding happens, the barrier is like... protection?"

"Something like that." Evan nodded. "It protects the connection from outside interference, but it also gives the Sentinel and Guide privacy while they’re synchronized."

"Oh..." Lumi slowly nodded as she finally understood. "So when I entered your mental space before, that was why I couldn’t hear or see anything happening outside?"

"Exactly."

She fell quiet again, apparently thinking through everything he had just told her. Then her cheeks gradually became pink.

"So during the third stage..." Evan already knew where her thoughts were going. "Yes. The people outside can’t see what’s happening between us once the barrier fully forms."

Lumi’s face became even warmer. She quickly lowered her eyes to the blanket. "Oh..."

Evan watched her for a moment before his expression softened. "But just because some Fated pairs choose to go further doesn’t mean we have to."

Lumi slowly raised her eyes.

"We only need enough physical contact to deepen the connection and enter the mental space together. How far it goes after that depends entirely on us."

He paused. "And if at any point you don’t want to continue, we stop."

Lumi remained quiet for a moment before giving him a small nod. "Okay..."

"Okay?" Evan’s head tilted slightly, his eyes searching hers as though he were trying to understand what exactly she meant by that single word.

Lumi realized what he was asking and quickly lowered her gaze, her fingers nervously playing with the edge of the blanket.

"I mean..." She hesitated for a moment before quietly looking back at him. "Let’s proceed with the Fated Bonding Ceremony..."

Her voice was soft, but there was no hesitation in her decision.

Evan stared at her for a few seconds.

Then the tension that had been sitting on his shoulders finally eased.

"All right." A small smile appeared on his lips. "Then we’ll do it properly."

Lumi nodded.

"Mm." She paused before quietly adding, "But... you’ll have to tell me what to do, right?"

Evan’s smile widened slightly.

"Of course." He gently squeezed her hand. "I’ll be there with you the whole time."

The warmth between them had barely settled when a loud knock suddenly came from the door.

"Good morning, lovebirds! Wake up! This tutor is hungry!"

Both of them froze.

The smiles on their faces instantly disappeared.

Evan slowly closed his eyes, his expression turning into one of pure annoyance.

"I should throw that woman out today..."

Lumi blinked before quietly covering her mouth, trying not to laugh.

From outside, Reeta knocked again.

"Did you hear me? I’m starving!"

Evan let out a long sigh before reaching for his phone on the side table. He dialled Leon’s number and, the moment the call connected, spoke without even bothering with a greeting.

"Get your Guide out of my house before I throw her straight into the Hell Dungeon."