The Shutter

"Two orders of kebab and another order but please make it unseasoned." A man with a lowered cap smoothly ordered as he stood in front of the street food stalls they passed by while they jogging and walking—no, taking the dog for a walk was the right term, maybe.

Ding Jia took a subtle glance at the man beside her while she knelt in front of Arthur, holding a small water bottle for the dog to drink.

She stood up and patted Arthur's head as soon as he finished drinking while the vendor handed the ordered food to Luo Yang. 

"Let's go." He took the leash from Ding Jia and fixed his lowered hat a little bit before he continued taking a light jog. Ding Jia chased after the man and dog, jogging at the same pace with them.

They passed by a bunch of people, and Ding Jia was silently releasing a breath of relief in her mind.

She thought quietly. Lin Lin would probably kill her if she gets recognized and climbs on the hot search for getting seen by an unknown man after recovering from her accident.

Good lord, why did she give in to Arthur's puppy eyes and agreed to go jog with them? 

After jogging for the past half an hour, the two people and the dog finally took a short break. Ding Jia wiped her sweat on her forehead as fast as a lightning and put back her cap on. Her breathing slowly stabilized as she wandered her eyes on the scenery before her.

They stopped by a few meters from the children's park. She watched little kids playing by the swing at the playground and some parents chatting with other parents while watching their kids. 

Meanwhile, Lou Yang was pouring Arthur some water and giving him treats. She saw a couple of women sneakily stealing glances on their way but even with an adorable dog by his side, Luo Yang's cold aura was too strong and he looked very unapproachable at a glance. 

Thankfully she stopped a couple of meters away from him so it didn't look like she was with them. 

While she was taking a break, she heard that familiar sound again.

—shutter

—shutter

Her hand subconsciously covered one of her ears in an attempt to block the annoying sound. It was useless at the shutter sound continued to ring in her ears and didn't stop. 

Ding Jia even glanced at Luo Yang's direction to see if he could also hear the sound but it became apparent that it was something that only she could hear. 

Frustrations grew within her as she gradually realized that ever since she woke up from the coma, she began to notice some... strange things. And she vaguely have an idea what these strange things was.

—shutter

—shutter

"Luo Yang." 

The man raised his head and glanced at the woman a couple meters away from him. 

"Hm?" 

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

His hand that was stroking Arthur's head stopped briefly. 

"No." was his quick reply. 

Ding Jia was a bit astonished. Her surprise didn't show at her face but her head turned towards Luo Yang's direction trying to see if he was serious with his answer.

"Really?" She asked once again.

"En."

"..." He's a horror author who doesn't believe in ghosts?

Ding Jia's brain couldn't comprehend the information for a while. Wow. 

This isn't the first time she met a popular author but she didn't expect that a horror author doesn't believe in supernatural? There was something contradicting in that line of thought as she thought about it repeatedly. 

She couldn't hold back her curiosity and asked him, "So how did you write your stories?"

Lou Yang returned his full attention to his dog when he answered her question, "Research and imagination." He stated as a matter of fact. As if what he said was something very obvious. 

—shutter

—shutter

"...you're kidding with me, aren't you?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.