The director blinked out of his stupor and nodded.

“Come on, guys," he called out in a dull tone. "Let's get back to the bus."

Hearing this, the scholars flushed in a mix of disappointment and embarrassment, but they could only watch Maria leave with the rest of the production team.

“This is ridiculous!" the director furiously murmured to himself.

He knew where these youngsters came from—they were PhD students from both Sheffield and Broome Universities. Some of them even worked as research assistants to the professors present at the forum.