Commander Sean's New Romance

Sean Hayes shook his half-dried hair, replaying the scene from earlier in his mind. His emotions were like a rollercoaster—he'd already steeled himself to feed himself to the wild wolves if it meant protecting Mrs. Penny and the child. But who could've guessed Mrs. Penny was so mischievous, tricking him just for fun!

Sean scratched his hair, quickly tossing the little prank to the back of his mind. He remembered that today, the Princess Consort herself was cooking for her family—surely there would be lots of delicious food in the kitchen!

"Hehehe, it’s such a rare treat to taste dishes made by the Princess Consort herself. I’ll go get some for Mrs. Penny!" Sean rubbed his hands together with excitement, humming a little tune as he headed to the kitchen. Along the way, he bumped into several Hayes Family Shadow Guards, all of whom gave him sly, knowing looks and greeted him with teasing smiles.

"Hey, Commander Sean, heading to the Prince’s courtyard? The Prince is entertaining the Lin Family right now!"

"Wow, Commander Sean, you’re really glowing today! Looks like something good happened!"

Sean greeted everyone with a cheerful laugh, his mind completely absorbed by thoughts of Princess Lily’s cooking—so delicious! He didn’t notice at all that everyone was looking at him with very odd expressions.

After Sean passed by, a few of the Hayes Family Shadow Guards huddled together, whispering and gossiping: "Did you see that? Commander Sean’s got a new flame—he’s practically strutting!"

"Yeah, just look at Commander Sean—he can’t even hide his smile, it’s practically reaching his ears!"

"Exactly! When something good happens, you can tell right away. Commander Sean’s new flame, Simon Yu, is quite the catch too!"

"But... but what about Leonard Li, the Heir of Huainan? Haven’t seen Commander Sean and the Heir together in ages. Anyone know what’s going on with those two?"

"You're really behind the times! That news is ancient history. Commander Sean and the young lord broke up ages ago."

"Oh, how did they break up just like that? They were so close before—even the Prince and Princess Consort knew that Commander Sean and the young lord used to share a bed!"

"Sigh, it's a long story. The King of Huainan wanted to avoid suspicion and didn't want to get too close to our Prince, so he played match-breaker and kept the young lord and Commander Sean apart. You remember how down Commander Sean was a while back? Bet it was because of the breakup. Now that he's got a new flame, look how happy he is! We should all be glad for him!"

"What are you talking about? I heard Commander Sean just got into a fight with Simon Yu for some reason—they went at it hard, both ended up with bruises, rolling around in the courtyard."

"You just don't get it! Fighting means they're close, arguing means they care—Commander Sean and Simon Yu, that's just their style. You know nothing!"

"Ohhh, I see! Do you think they're like that in bed too? Maybe they fight before sleeping, and the loser ends up on the bottom?"

"..."

Humming a tune, Sean made his way to the kitchen, completely unaware that his "new romance" with Simon Yu was already the hottest gossip among the Shaw Family Shadow Guards. Everyone was itching for more details.

At the kitchen door, Sean sniffed the air. The aroma wafting out was heavenly!

He hurried inside to take a look—Lily Evans was wearing an apron and expertly stir-frying dishes.

"Sean, you're here! I made extra today—two plates of every dish. Just take whichever you want!" Lily said cheerfully.