Chapter 514

Chapter 514 Raid on the Water!

“You look beautiful today.” Su Rui said as Hathaway settled into the passenger seat.

The dress was a bold,vivid color that echoed the blazing summer sun. Unlike most American women, Hathaway had remarkably smooth skin without a single freckle in sight.

The dress was a spaghetti-strap style, and it was clear that given Hathaway’s figure, even a standard size would look a size too small on her. The snowy peaks of her chest were half-exposed, and the hem only reached mid-thigh. She wore a pair of stiletto sandals, the whole look sexy yet charming.

This top Hollywood agent had every bit of the potential to become a major star herself.

Hearing Su Rui’s compliment, Hathaway felt a warm glow inside. She had spent over two full hours carefully getting ready for today’s outing.

“Anywhere you’d like to go?” Su Rui pulled his gaze away — even if a beautiful woman had a stunning figure, he couldn’t just keep staring like a fool, right?

“I want to go on a boat.” Hathaway said.

“A boat? Heh, now that sounds great.”

Images of something far more enticing flashed through Su Rui’s mind unbidden. A boat? If they were going on a boat, wouldn’t she need to put on a bikini? The sun was so nice — wouldn’t that call for some sunbathing?

“Calm down, calm down, calm down.” In that moment, the dashing Su Rui caught himself, deeply dissatisfied with his own lack of composure.

He had always considered himself a man of strong self-control. So why, the moment he heard a beautiful woman mention a boat, did his mind instantly conjure up so many images?

The two of them chatted and laughed all the way to the seaside.

Hathaway was clearly very interested in Su Rui, her eyes practically sparkling whenever she looked at him. This man had first saved Tris, steering a wayward troublemaker back onto the right path, and then at a critical moment had rescued her, sparing her from an unlawful assault.

The two siblings only had each other in this world. Seen in that light, Su Rui was the greatest benefactor their family had ever known.

If this man had never appeared, Hathaway didn’t even dare imagine what her life might have become!

“Su Rui, when are you planning to come back to America?” Hathaway asked, full of anticipation.

“I’m not sure, I’ll figure it out once things wrap up here. It’s been a long time since I’ve been back — I actually do miss it.”

“When you go, I’ll be with you around the clock, the whole time.” Hathaway’s tone was quite forward and full of warmth.

“Around the clock, the whole time?” Su Rui didn’t think much of it. He was used to being casual, and without a second thought he teased, “Even when sleeping?”

Hearing that, a flush of red rose to Hathaway’s cheeks, but she didn’t shy away at all. Her big, dewy eyes looked at Su Rui and she said, “If you need me to, I don’t think I’d have any problem with that.”

If she wasn’t joking, then those words were a confession of feelings!

Even if it was only half in jest, it was more than enough to reveal how Hathaway felt!

Hearing this, Su Rui instinctively glanced at Hathaway’s chest and couldn’t help feeling a sudden dryness in his throat.

Could this woman actually have feelings for him?

Fortunately, the awkward atmosphere didn’t last long before Hathaway quickly composed herself and changed the subject.

The truth was, she did have genuine feelings for Su Rui. In all these years, he was the first man who had ever made her heart stir.

It had happened so easily.

She couldn’t quite tell if it was gratitude, or something else entirely.

Hathaway was well aware of her own feelings, but she was worried — if she got too close to Su Rui, would it upset Toni Landore?

Like today, for instance — Landore was filming a promotional video, and Hathaway had gone behind her back to ask Su Rui out!

Hathaway didn’t know what kind of history existed between Landore and Su Rui, but she knew clearly that Landore also harbored special feelings for this man from China. As her agent, Hathaway could sense that much without any difficulty.

Having worked with so many talented and handsome male stars, Landore not only never let anything happen beyond the script with any of them, she would even turn down something as simple as casual tea or a meal. Yet this proud white swan had a particular soft spot for Su Rui — wasn’t that telling enough?

“I hope doing this doesn’t end up affecting my relationship with Landore.” Hathaway told herself, in a bit of self-deception.

No matter how close two women might be, the moment they both fell for the same man, neither could be entirely free of selfish thoughts.

The weather was clear and breezy — perfect for heading out to sea, especially with a gorgeous woman by his side.

Su Rui rented a motorboat with a small cabin, paid the deposit, and they set off cutting through the waves.

Hathaway sat beside Su Rui, a large pair of sunglasses over her face, tilting her head back to soak in the sun. The sea breeze swept her long hair streaming behind her, and she felt completely at ease from head to toe.

“I love this feeling!” Hathaway called out, spreading her arms wide with pure joy.

“Put on a life jacket.” Su Rui set the speedboat to autopilot, then handed Hathaway a thick life vest.

Hathaway looked at Su Rui with puzzled eyes. “A life jacket right now? Shouldn’t I be wearing a bikini instead?”

In fact, Hathaway had already brought a bikini — she had put her swimsuit on underneath the dress from the start, ready to slip it off at any moment.

Foreign girls always had such an open-minded attitude about these things. Wearing a bikini in public was really no big deal to them. Unlike in China, where a woman who dared to dress like that would almost certainly be criticized for being indecent.

Yet here was Su Rui, insisting that Hathaway put a thick life jacket on over her dress — it was a complete mood killer.

“Safety first.” Su Rui picked up the life jacket and moved to put it on her.

“But it’s perfectly safe right now.” Women always care about how they look, and they tend to resist anything that gets in the way of that.

“You never know when it might not be.” Su Rui said. In his experience, the saying “the weather can change without warning” had always applied to his life.

“But I can swim.” Hathaway kept pushing back. She had finally gotten a rare chance to show off her appeal in front of Su Rui, and she wasn’t about to give that up easily.

If she put on this bulky life jacket, would her figure even be visible at all?

“No matter how well you can swim, you won’t be able to swim once you’re out in the open sea!”

Su Rui held firm, and Hathaway couldn’t win the argument. She had no choice but to reluctantly pull on the life jacket. The scenery was still just as beautiful, and Su Rui was still right there beside her, but the moment she put that thing on, the whole feeling changed completely.

Su Rui paid none of that any mind. Once the autopilot was set, he got up and lay down on the small deck, gazing out at the horizon.

Hathaway padded over barefoot and lay down beside Su Rui, closing her eyes and savoring this rare moment of leisure.

The blue sky and the vast sea stretched endlessly before them, making the heart feel wide open and free.

“Su Rui, do you have a girlfriend?”

Hathaway asked suddenly.

Only she knew how nervous she was saying those words — her full chest rose and fell rapidly with her quickened breathing!

“That question…” Su Rui rubbed his nose and said with some hesitation, “I’d say yes, more or less.”

Of course he did — and there was more than one ambiguous relationship at that. This guy was really something else.

Hathaway pressed on, “Would you mind having one more foreign girlfriend?”

See, foreign girls really were that bold, direct, and forward.

And the way she phrased it made it nearly impossible for Su Rui to refuse — would you mind having one more girlfriend?

After asking that, Hathaway’s heart began to pound wildly! Her cheeks had gone burning hot!

Even though she was already in her thirties, she had never once said anything like this to a man — something that made her face flush and her heart race! She had no idea what had come over her today, but the words had just slipped out as if by some strange impulse!

Su Rui cleared his throat twice, just about to give her a firm and principled refusal, when he caught a flash of light on the surface of the sea in the distance.

Was that a glint of waves, or a flicker of fire?

In that instant, his eyes narrowed slightly, a sharp and dangerous light suddenly flaring in them, and he threw his arms around Hathaway! They rolled across the deck together in rapid succession!

Hathaway was still waiting with a fluttering heart for Su Rui’s answer, when she suddenly felt her body pulled tight by a pair of powerful arms!

“Chinese men are so direct!”

Hathaway’s heart leapt with both surprise and delight. She wrapped her arms around Su Rui’s waist in return, going along with him as they rolled across the deck together!

“This trip to China has really been worth it. Even if a romance isn’t in the cards, getting to have something happen with a man like this wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.”

“Also, I absolutely cannot tell Toni Landore what happened today — she’d definitely be jealous…”

Hathaway’s thoughts were a jumbled mess, and she hadn’t noticed at all the grave expression on Su Rui’s face!

Then Hathaway felt herself and Su Rui tumble off the deck together, and with a splash they plunged into the sea!

And in the very next second, Hathaway heard a thunderous explosion!

A streak of light came flying from the distance and slammed directly into the cabin of the speedboat, sending the entire vessel into a violent explosion!

An attack!

She had no time to react at all. She could feel Su Rui holding her tightly, swimming with all his strength away from the wreckage beneath the surface!

Hathaway had never been through anything like this before. She felt as though her lungs were about to burst. She kept shaking her head and waving her hands at Su Rui, signaling desperately that she needed to surface for air!

There was nothing for it — Su Rui had to hold her and shoot upward fast!

The moment she gulped in a breath of fresh air, before Hathaway even had a chance to figure out what was happening, she heard Su Rui say close to her ear, “Just float on the surface, I’ll protect you — don’t be afraid!”

With that, Hathaway felt his arms release her!

Losing that warm and strong embrace, a strange sense of loss welled up in her heart. But Su Rui’s words lingered in her ears, filling her with an overwhelming sense of safety!

When Hathaway wiped the water from her face and turned to look at the speedboat, she was stunned.

The entire speedboat had been blown apart until almost nothing remained but the hull. The cabin had been blasted clean off, and the fuel tank had been ignited!

If Su Rui hadn’t reacted fast enough, they would have been blown to pieces by now!

Someone had shouldered a rocket launcher and, from a distance, fired a rocket straight at the speedboat they had been on!