A thousand thoughts flashed through Hermione's mind in an instant, leaving it a tangled mess of speculation.
Watching his girlfriend's imagination run wild, Vaughn said half jokingly, "Perhaps Dumbledore's afraid Mr. Li will steal me away, and I won't want to come back to England once I've been to China?"
Hermione took her boyfriend's joke seriously, her eyes widening. "Are you really planning to do that?"
She was already considering whether she should persuade her parents to move to China after she graduated.
Vaughn shook his head with a laugh. "Although I love Chinese culture, I'm English, and my school,
my family, my friends, and my future wife are all here."
Hermione blinked before realizing what Vaughn had meant by that last remark. Her face flushed scarlet, as though it had caught fire.
Of course, Vaughn would never leave for good. His power base was in England, and his reforms also needed to unfold in the Southern Hemisphere.
Perhaps once everything had settled, he would consider moving to China. After all, compared with the culinary wasteland of England, he missed Chinese food far more.
But that would be a long, long time from now-
Vaughn was absolutely certain Dumbledore would try to obstruct his trip to China, though the reason was hardly as simple as he had told Hermione. Dumbledore's reluctance to let him go was mostly born of fear that events would slip completely out of his control.
Still, Vaughn had a way to persuade Dumbledore, and it was very simple-he just had to take him along.
Hermione soon shook off her disappointment at her boyfriend's impending departure for China. Though she had originally made plenty of plans for the summer, she would not let herself become a burden to his career.
After some thought, she frowned and asked,