Looking for Angsty Modern Romance, the More Heartbreaking the Better 求都市言情虐文啦 越虐越好

1. 1 虐 Tortured Love: More Than Friends, Less Than Lovers With the Ice-Cold CEO 虐恋：我与冷艳女总裁恋人未满 Mr QingMr清Urban499k WordsCompleted [Urban life + romance + no System + everyday life + one female lead] Main storyline: As the eldest son of the Lin family of Yanjing, Lin Xingchen seems to have a dazzling background, but he harbors a secret no one knows. Su Qingyao, CEO of the Su Group in Yuncheng, is known for her icy beauty. Beneath her cool exterior, she has never dared to admit what she truly feels. These two people, both deeply conflicted about their own feelings, meet and gradually come to understand each other under the h 7Reads—Score—14d adds

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   This is an urban romance novel with a fast pace but a slow tempo, best enjoyed at a leisurely pace. Lin Xingchen, the eldest son of the Lin family in Yanjing, hides a secret beneath his seemingly glamorous exterior. Su Qingyao, the president of the Su Group in Yuncheng, is known for her cold and aloof demeanor, but beneath that exterior, she dares not admit her true feelings. These two individuals, deeply conflicted about their inner selves, meet by fate and begin to understand each other…

2. 2 不 After I Stopped Being a Simp, My Tsundere Girlfriend Regretted It 不做舔狗后傲娇女朋友却后悔了 A Heart Dancing in the Wind随风飘舞的心Urban432k WordsOngoing The girlfriend he’s loved for three years has a first love, and now that her first love is back, she predictably cheats on him, even livestreaming the affair. Talk about heartbreaking! He breaks up with her on the spot, without a moment’s hesitation. Then the hero meets a glamorous, icy female CEO and begins a new romance. He’s funny, witty, charming, and clever, with a mischievous streak. She’s cool and proud. A live-in son-in-law and a domineering female CEO: watch them spark a romance. This b 10.7kReads6.2Score41314d adds

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   This is a novel where the female lead has a "white moonlight" (a term for a devoted, unrequited love interest) and regrets pursuing her husband! She gets cheated on right from the start; her girlfriend of three years cheats on her and even livestreams the affair – it's truly heartbreaking! They break up immediately, without any hesitation. The male lead then meets a powerful female CEO, and her "white moonlight" returns… It's a really good book; once you start reading, you won't be able to stop. Come check it out! 😠😠😠😞😓

3. 3 打 A Working-Class Packhorse and His Cheating Wife 打工牛马，劈腿妻 A Heart Dancing in the Wind随风飘舞的心Urban1.2M WordsOngoing Chen Yu never imagined that coming home without warning would lead him to find another man in his own house. After seven years together, just as they were about to get married, his fiancée, Ning Feifei, had cheated on him. While he was away, she had let another man move into his home. Ning Feifei said the man was her close male friend, someone who understood her deeply. He had filled the loneliness in her heart while Chen Yu was gone. Chen Yu was furious. They had to break up, no question. Witho 17.7kReads6.5Score90114d adds
4. 4 婆 A Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law's Feud 婆媳仇 Shangguan Xuan'er上官轩儿Modern Romance164k WordsCompleted My mother-in-law is a champion at double standards. When her own daughter sleeps until midmorning, she's "blessed." When I get up ten minutes late, I'm a "lazy daughter-in-law." My husband is the ultimate "dutiful son," and his catchphrase is always, "My mom has it so hard." 5.1kReads—Score24614d adds

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   "You still have the nerve to talk back?" Old Mrs. Zhao jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed), pointing her finger at her nose. "If you can't cook, what kind of man are you going to marry? In the Zhao family, we marry women to live a practical life, not to worship ancestors! If you can't handle the food, get out!"

5. 5 别 Don't Rush, I'm Waiting 别急，我在等 Shangguan Xuan'er上官轩儿Modern Romance118k WordsCompleted Whether you are a career woman or a housewife, you must treat yourself like a queen. When you are humiliated or defeated, learn to fight back when all seems lost. When you find yourself in a difficult situation, don't panic. Wait. Wait for your opponent to finish their act. Wait until you have all the evidence. Wait until everyone has taken their side. Then tear down the stage with your own hands. 56Reads—Score—14d adds
6. 6 他 After He Escaped Death, He Forced Me to Sign a Penance Contract 他死里逃生后，逼我签下赎罪契约 I Returned to the Crowd我重返人群Modern Romance178k WordsCompleted A handsome, powerful, tragic, obsessive, and deranged man with a double face × a patient, clear-headed heiress fallen on hard times Five years later, we meet again. He's Jiangcheng's most ruthless obsessive man, and I'm an heiress with nowhere left to turn. He hangs me over a cliff and says, “Let me show you the despair I felt when I jumped into the sea back then.” He forces me to sign a contract of atonement and says, “I won't spare a single member of the Lin family.” I thought he hated me so m 2kReads—Score11414d adds

   Reader note

   The brutality lies in the extreme choices adults make after weighing the pros and cons. While seemingly driven mad by hatred, the characters are actually suppressing deep affection. The plot is unconventional, not a typical melodramatic story, and offers a refreshing experience. However, the level of emotional intensity is extremely profound, easily rivaling tropes like the "wife-chasing-after-the-crime" trope. The author has taken a unique approach, crafting a sophisticated form of angst. Highly recommended.

7. 7 妻 My Wife's Devotion 妻子的奉献 Wu Ya Works Hard to Make Porridge吴涯苦作粥Urban327k WordsCompleted ◆ I used to think I had let my wife down ◆ She had given so much for me and our family ◆ Until one day, I heard someone say she wanted a divorce and planned to leave me with nothing ◆ Because I could no longer keep up with her ◆ A dam a thousand miles long can be destroyed by ants ◆ I never thought the marriage where we promised never to part would one day come to an end ◆ ☞ An immersive urban battle to save a marriage, dazzling and glamorous, untouched by worldly grime 903Reads5.2Score—14d adds

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   My wife is the most beautiful woman in the world. An immersive experience to save my beloved wife.

8. 8 老 Don't Be Afraid, Honey. I Have a Redemption System to Help Me Win You Back 老婆别怕，我有赎罪系统换我追你 One Bored Rich Lady无聊富婆一枚Modern Romance203k WordsCompleted “Runaway Heiress x Possessive New Money Peacock” “Mind Reading + Both Reborn + Wife-Chasing System” * In her previous life, Song Yi was an untouchable heiress who treated Jiang Lin like a plaything. She took him by force, abandoned him, then left the country without a second thought. Later, when the Song family went bankrupt, he was the only person who could save her. He trapped her in a five-year marriage, holding her captive. Everyone said Jiang Lin was a distant, untouchable flower: cold, ele 3.1kReads—Score12614d adds

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   They were childhood sweethearts, but the female lead forced him into a relationship and then ran away. They met again when the female lead's family went bankrupt, turning them into enemies. The male lead forced her into marriage, but the female lead was clear-headed and ruthless; she even dared to jump off a building while pregnant, determined not to let the male lead have his way. The female lead is reborn with mind-reading abilities, while the male lead, equipped with a system, obsessively pursues her.

9. 9 围 Outside the Siege, Inside the Livestream 围城外，直播里 Xi Fengyue西枫月Modern Romance536k WordsCompleted [Urban] + [Marriage Story] + [Putting Scumbags in Their Place] + [Suspense] + [Two Female Leads] + [No Romance] Less than a month after we got married, my husband secretly sold the house my parents left me to pay for his younger brother's wedding! I turned to the livestream chatroom "Sister's Hideout" for help, only to uncover an old case involving a body dumped in the water three years ago. It turned out I wasn't his first wife, nor would I be his last target. He used marriage as bait, laying 10Reads8.8Score—14d adds

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   This is an urban romance novel, very realistic and very heart-wrenching.

10. 10 豪 A Vicious Dog of the Rich? Just My Sister’s Little Puppy 豪门恶犬？姐姐养的小狗罢了 Sea Salt Ice Cream海盐冰激凌Modern Romance357k WordsCompleted [Both leads have only ever been with each other + equally strong leads + older woman/younger man + training her puppy + sweet, satisfying romance + face-slapping + a second chance at love + the male lead goes from lover to husband] [Dark, possessive, yandere puppy boy with a sweet exterior and a hidden ruthless streak x cool, glamorous, flirtatious, proud young heiress] Before she was forced into an arranged marriage, Shen Jiayan's parents discovered her secret relationship with Lin Mubai, the S 3.6kReads9.3Score33014d adds

    Reader note

    I swear to you, you'll cry after reading this book.

11. 11 你 Your Beauty, Beyond the Cycle of Reincarnation 你的美，不堕轮回 Standard Form of a Quadratic Form二次型标准型Urban139k WordsOngoing [Angst-filled romance + pure love for readers who can handle the pain + romantic mystery + a touch of melodrama + light comedy] Cui Ziyun returns from a sea of blood, like Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly, unsure whether this body is real or an illusion. His memories are gone, leaving only a face said to rival Pan An reborn and Song Yu brought back to life. His old love has turned to ashes, yet he finds three women dead in the same room: one in bridal robes, full of resentment; one asleep amo 3Reads—Score—14d adds

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    Despite her stunning good looks, she only wanted to live a low-key life, yet trouble kept lurking around her. She was cornered at home by her classmate and interrogated, criticized by a girl in the garden, and even returning to school meant facing a classroom full of "monsters and demons." Her frail body concealed an indomitable curiosity.

12. 12 卷 The Workaholic CEO Loves Overtime, So His Overworked Secretary Runs Off with the Desk 卷王总裁爱加班，牛马秘书扛桌跑 Mrs. Ocherov奥切罗夫人Modern Romance790k WordsCompleted [Sweet, soft-hearted, adorable overworked secretary X ruthless, seductive, scheming CEO with a fragile side | HE + sweet romance + mutual devotion + funny and lighthearted + mutual healing + gentle comfort] At 10 p.m., in an office tower in Shanghai’s CBD, CEO’s secretary Li Li eats instant noodles and gnaws on a cold meat bun in front of her computer. She can’t take any more overtime at this lousy job. It just never ends! After losing her job, she gets referred by a relative and lands a positio 435Reads—Score3014d adds

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    Li Li is forced to work overtime with Ye Li, the "King of Scrolls 007," but he starts his pursuit of her, transforming from a domineering CEO into a drama queen. This is a refreshing romance novel for working-class people—it's amazing!

13. 13 重 Reborn: Revenge on My Two-Faced Best Friend and Scumbag Ex-Boyfriend 重生—复仇绿茶闺蜜和人渣前男友 Youhuang Pavilion幽惶轩18k WordsCompleted Reborn: Taking Revenge on a Scheming Best Friend and a Scumbag Ex-Boyfriend —Reads—Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    It's a super good movie about revenge on your best friend and your jerk boyfriend.

14. 14 两 Two Generations of Mothers-in-Law and Daughters-in-Law: Love and Hate in a Chinese Family 两代婆媳：中式家庭的爱恨情长 Wan Xi婉兮Modern Romance549k WordsCompleted Three women, two generations of mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. The post-1995 generation faces off against the post-1960 generation. Their conflict is both a clash of lifestyles and a collision of beliefs, bringing more than half a century of women’s awakening into sharp focus. Women born in the 1930s are stubbornly set in their ways; those born in the 1960s are half-awake and half-entrenched; while the post-1995 generation wholeheartedly embraces pleasure, putting themselves entirely above 1.2kReads9.6Score16514d adds

    Reader note

    Come quick! Come quick! A silent "war" has quietly begun on the stage of the family between a post-95s daughter-in-law and a post-60s mother-in-law. Their lifestyles are like fire and ice, their ideologies like good versus evil. Behind this lies a stark contrast in women's awakening over half a century: the post-30s generation stubbornly clings to old ideas, the post-60s generation hovers on the edge of awakening, while the post-95s generation champions self-reliance. However, the shadow of an unfinished building, the grief of the father-in-law's sudden death, the turmoil of demolition, and the challenges of childbirth, like storms, sweep through this family. Amidst the storms, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law gradually let go of their prejudices, drawing strength from each other, learning to reflect, and growing. They are no longer opposing sides, but partners working together to explore a harmonious way for Chinese mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships. The story, like the ups and downs of life, avoids melodramatic clichés; while there is harsh reality, there is also a gentle glimmer of hope. Recommended rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

15. 15 雪 Xue Wutong 雪梧桐 Xun Bai荀柏710k WordsCompleted [Republican-era ensemble cast + love of country + two powerful leads + older man/younger woman + sweet romance + pursuit of love + powerful man bows his head + heartbreaking angst + bad ending] In the Republican era, Nanjing was home to two renowned romantics. I do not believe in Buddha, but I would kneel at every temple in Nanjing if only Heaven would give me back my wife. Zhou Qingshi, courtesy name Changyu, was the eldest son and eldest grandson of the Zhou family, and ninth in birth order. 400Reads8.6Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    I watched them suffer in the book, and I cried outside of it.

16. 16 我 My Younger Days 我的年少时 Xun Bai荀柏Modern Romance144k WordsCompleted I dedicate this book to the youth I had only once, and which I regret so deeply losing! [Redemption + Unrequited Love + Mutual Devotion + Bad Ending] When you aren't brave enough as a teenager, you grow up with regrets. All these years, fate has always been like this: it has given me so much, but it has also made me lose so much. Sometimes I think, let it be. Life is long, with more sorrow than joy. It's not one particular thing that leaves you gasping for breath. It's the slow realization 43Reads—Score—14d adds
17. 17 锦 The Star Brocade Chronicles 锦星录 Xun Bai荀柏Urban351k WordsCompleted [Modern Setting + Two Male Leads + Sweet Romance + Unforgettable Love + Angst + The Love of a Lifetime + Bad Ending] This is just a practice story. I don’t know what I’m doing, so I’ll look things up as I go. It’s purely for practice, and I’m writing it all over the place. Two boys meet and begin to support each other and grow together. One is bright and sunny, playful and adorable; the other is composed, reserved, and courteous. One burns like the blazing sun, the other is gentle as moonlight. 28Reads—Score—14d adds
18. 18 听 Songs of the Listening Wind Tower 听风楼歌 Splashing Water from the Far Bank隔岸拍水Urban186k WordsOngoing Why does Xiangju run a business that only loses money and never makes a profit? She treats relationships just as carelessly, elbowing her way to the top of the airport’s Twelve Most Beautiful Women. She has Hong Zhi and Brother Gen fighting over her in a jealous brawl, and instead of being ashamed, she’s proud of it. After her eldest daughter gets into a prestigious university, she works hard and becomes independent. She tutors and models cars in her spare time, and accompanies her professor to 790Reads—Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    A heartfelt urban romance, a deep love story unfolds in the Listening Wind Pavilion. Amidst the ordinary, everyday moments, who will place even a fraction of their affection on family?

19. 19 我 I Am a Scout: Zhan De 我是侦察兵一一湛德 Splashing Water from the Far Bank隔岸拍水10k WordsCompleted I’m a Scout: Zhan De —Reads—Score—14d adds
20. 20 诀 City of Farewells 诀别之城 Ye Family Member Who Loves Cabbage and Celery爱吃白菜芹菜的叶家人Modern Romance533k WordsCompleted Three years ago, a devastating betrayal left Yang Jie heartbroken, and she called off the wedding she had looked forward to all her life. She thought she and Ye Mao would have nothing more to do with each other. Three years later, the man who had hurt her so deeply appeared before her again, quietly pleading for forgiveness. The real estate industry is a cutthroat world, and people are hard to read. Her former lover presses closer at every turn, and their old feelings refuse to fade. This time —Reads—Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    This book is wonderful and so touching! It's set against the backdrop of the real estate industry, the content feels incredibly realistic, and the plot is fresh and original. It's a true Chinese story, not one to lie to other Chinese readers. You definitely won't regret reading it.

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