"Clang," a noise startled Xie Lin, who was immersed in his experiment at the front desk.
He turned around, puzzled, and saw Han Jingwen already standing up, his usually gentle face etched with anxiety.
Frowning, he was about to ask what was wrong when Han Jingwen was already dialing a number on his phone.
Xie Lin pursed his lips and averted his gaze.
Han Jingwen's call connected, only to be greeted by an automated female voice:
"I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off, please try again later."
He hung up and dialed again, but the line was still off.
"Xie Lin, Xiaoqing did say she would be back in an hour, didn't she?"
Clutching his phone, Han Jingwen walked out while taking off his white lab coat and grabbing his coat from the rack.
"Yeah," replied Xie Lin.
After a moment's thought, he added, "She left at six."
