The HSK hit the snooze button with a groan. In retrospect, the Chinese proficiency test should never have picked up this early morning teaching job. There had been a clear conflict of interest there, but the test-prep school had been willing to overlook it and the job seemed an easy way of making money on the side. Also - at least as the HSK test told itself - it really was the most qualified teacher for the students anyway.

And yet, instead of a class of bright students eager to imbibe its wisdom, the HSK found its class a motley assortment of students with little real interest in the Chinese language. It was no wonder the school had had such a hard time finding a qualified teacher. The serious students had already moved almost entirely online, where materials were more abundant, far less expensive and more personal. Who could compete with the Internet?