Diary Boot Camp [Infinite]

Coming soon: The External Relations Department Can't Do Without Me. Please add it to your favorites.

Ding Can had just started her career. Wanting to keep a record of her life, she searched the app store for a diary app that caught her eye.

The Daily Journal app at the top of the list drew her attention. Not many people had downloaded it, but every rating was five stars.

Its icon matched the black-and-white style of the description. The details page looked bright and appealing, just the style she liked.

She downloaded it without hesitation and tapped into the app. All she had to do was enter her name to register.

With a chime, a few large words appeared: Welcome to Daily Journal.

[Please follow this app's policies and rules while using it.]

[Daily Journal follows the principle of building a good habit in 21 days. Check in on time for 21 days to unlock a reward.]

[Reward name: XXXX]

Ding Can scrolled down and confirmed that she was at the very bottom of the page. Why was the reward field still blank?

The entire phone screen suddenly began to ripple strangely, and every character on it trembled. The more Ding Can looked, the stranger it seemed. Could this be some kind of prank app?

Afraid that something disgusting might pop up, she held the phone farther away. At the same time, a crackling electrical sound came from outside the door: Welcome, trainees, to the Diary Training Camp!

Ding Can opened the door and found herself staring at a stranger across the hall, who was wearing the same loose pajamas as her.

Outside her room was no longer her rented apartment, but a long corridor lined with different rooms. It looked just like a university dormitory.

She looked back at her door number: 820.

The announcement continued: All trainees, please get ready. In fifteen minutes, report to the first-floor lobby for the camp entrance test...

Coming soon: The External Relations Department Can't Do Without Me

A clay sculpture intangible cultural heritage inheritor x a second-generation rich kid trying to become an idol

Yin Moyu used her acrobatic skills to enter the audition for a talent show.

After passing, she became one of the 99 contestants and moved into the contestants' dormitory.

Just before the first performance, a staff member in a cultural T-shirt called her aside and said she needed to sign a confidentiality agreement.

Yin Moyu: "I get it! The fact that my debut spot has been decided in advance shouldn't be broadcast too loudly. I'll give it my all in the upcoming rounds and won't slack off, so I can earn that spot fair and square."

Staff member: "No. Actually, this is an agreement that will let you become a civil servant."

Yin Moyu: ...

"If you're willing, you can join the External Relations Department immediately."

"The External Relations Department?" she repeated. Her social skills were pretty decent, after all.

The staff member spoke earnestly: "That's right. The Department for the Joint Governance of Otherworldly Creatures."

Yin Moyu forced a smile. "That sounds like something completely different!"

With her little special ability, which only worked when the odds were in her favor, she couldn't believe she could land a stable government job.

Besides, she'd often have to go out on field assignments. She couldn't guarantee she'd come back in one piece to clock in again.

You shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket. Even after signing the agreement, she couldn't let the competition slide.

But from the moment the show hired Mu Zezhi, an inheritor of the clay sculpture tradition, to help with the stage design for an upcoming performance, something began to feel off.

*

Yin Moyu bragged to her groupmates about the hair tie that had just arrived: "I'm telling you, this collab is really popular online right now. I spent almost a week waiting for it..."

Three or four meters away, in the corner of the stage, Mu Zezhi was discussing the set with the staff. "If we're going with this lighting, I think a yellow-and-blue clay sculpture would stand out more on camera."

Yin Moyu turned her head against her will. "I think Teacher Mu has a point. The interplay of light and shadow on stage really is important."

She looked back at her groupmate. "I spent almost a week waiting for it before I finally managed to snag one. Look..."

Mu Zezhi clearly hadn't heard her. He continued, "Maybe putting a plain white porcelain vase beside it would soften the impact."

Her neck turned again. "Negative space? I hadn't thought of that."

Without even turning her head back, she continued her previous topic: "Look at the little details on the hair tie. Aren't they clever?"

Mu Zezhi said, "I accidentally got some dust on it. Do you have a tissue?"

He was clearly talking to a staff member.

But the hand she was using to show off the hair tie immediately veered toward her pocket to fetch a tissue.

! Seeing the stunned faces of her groupmates, Yin Moyu suddenly realized something.

Why did everything she was talking about have to give way the moment Mu Zezhi spoke? She couldn't control herself at all.

From then on, whenever Mu Zezhi was around, a new route automatically opened up in Yin Moyu's mind, taking priority and dedicated entirely to serving him.

What she couldn't accept was: how could Mu Zezhi be the main plotline?

Countless times, Yin Moyu screamed inwardly: When, exactly, will I ever get to finish talking about my own business!

*

To find the source of the problem, Yin Moyu reread the confidentiality agreement and decided to claim her employee benefits first. Once hired, she could arrange a comprehensive medical checkup available only to employees.

After collecting her staff badge and clocking in, she officially opened the door to the head of the External Relations Department's office. The first thing she saw was the familiar clay sculpture.

At the desk, Mu Zezhi was using straw to make an armature.

"H-Hello, Director?" Yin Moyu stared wide-eyed.

Theme: A little exploration of how to build a good habit in 21 days