Make It Heartbreaking, Heartbreaking, Heartbreaking! No CEO Romances. I Read Bone-Deep Danger and Didn’t Even Cry 虐虐虐，不要总裁文，蚀骨危情看了没哭

1. 1 渣 The Scumbag Can't Have Me, Quick Transmigration 渣男对我求而不得【快穿】 Shui Mu Qing水木青Ancient Romance315k WordsCompleted After a car accident leaves her in a vegetative state, Lin Ruo is forced to bind herself to the Scumbag System and begins a masochistic quest to cling to the scumbag’s coattails. First World The scumbag emperor destroys her family and leaves her to die in a sea of flames in order to seize military power. After she dies, the emperor undergoes a dramatic change in personality and spends more than a decade consumed by regret. Lin Ruo rolls her eyes in disdain. [Scumbag Experience: 10%] Second World 5.2kReads9.1Score50414d adds

   Reader note

   None of the three books are CEO romance novels. The first one is incredibly angsty; the female lead suffers from depression and endures immense grief. The second one is a quick transmigration story, but it's very short. The first life is extremely heart-wrenching; it made me cry in the middle of the night. The plot progresses faster in the later lives. The third one is about a general and the crown prince of a fallen kingdom; it's truly heartbreaking.

2. 2 燕 Where the Swallows Return, We Must Not Meet Again 燕归处，莫相逢 Mi Yuwangtu靡御忘荼Ancient Romance52k WordsCompleted Her name was Jun Mo. She had spent her life on horseback and on the battlefield, battle-hardened, bold, and arrogant. He was the person she loved most, and her only weakness. She feared he might get hurt if she so much as held him in her palm, and feared he might melt if she kept him in her mouth. But a weakness is itself a poisoned blade. At first, the pain is not fatal. In the end, the fatal wound no longer hurts. No one knew that later, amid the bitter winter snow, some people were only acti 315Reads8.7Score—14d adds
3. 3 出 After I Got Out of Prison, My Ex-Husband Became a Total Sucker 出狱后，前夫成了大冤种 Gu Zhouzhou顾粥粥Modern Romance469k WordsCompleted [Angsty Romance + Rekindled Love + The Husband's Long Road to Redemption] Before marrying Fu Qingchuan, Song Zhi spent over half a year making sure he loved her. But on their wedding anniversary, she noticed something strange about him. Before learning the truth about that woman and her relationship with him, Song Zhi had never understood why she was the one who went to prison after her future sister-in-law caused a hit-and-run. She also never knew that Ji Yurou was the woman her husband loved i 62Reads5.9Score—14d adds

   Reader note

   Empathy and abuse

4. 4 季 Mr. Ji, Stop Hurting Me. Miss Shu Is Already Married 季总别虐了，舒小姐已嫁人 Warm Words温言暖语Modern Romance1.9M WordsCompleted As Ji Sihan’s secret lover, Shu Wan stayed by his side for five years. She thought that if she was obedient and sweet, she could warm his heart. But she never expected to be abandoned in the end. Shu Wan had always been gentle. She neither argued nor made a scene, and didn’t even ask him for a penny. She simply walked out of his world. But when she was about to marry someone else, he suddenly pinned her against the wall and kissed her like a madman. Shu Wan couldn’t quite figure out what Mr. Ji 27.5kReads9.2Score3.1k14d adds
5. 5 世 No One in the World Is Like Her Anymore 世上无人再像她 Fo Jiu佛九Modern Romance40k WordsCompleted Shen Ange knew that love could leave you battered to the bone, but without love she would become a walking corpse. Stubbornly, she believed that life was long enough for her to wait until he came back to her. In the end, though, she could no longer hold on... 1.6kReads8.1Score17414d adds
6. 6 我 I Once Promised You a Golden Age of Joy 我曾许你盛世欢颜 Flirtatious Little Bottle风流小瓶子Modern Romance44k WordsCompleted Ye Chen waits for his Mrs. Ye, from the days when youth was like a dream until her hair turns white as snow. But he will never know that his Mrs. Ye was buried long ago in that rotten, muddy grave... 1.6kReads6.6Score27214d adds

   Reader note

   I highly recommend watching "I Love You in Heaven." Even I, who am easily moved to tears, cried after watching it once, and I haven't dared to watch it a second time.

7. 7 他 He Is in the South of the Clouds 他在云之南 Jing Xing景行Modern Romance209k WordsCompleted When they first met, he was shrouded in shadow, reeking of blood and violence. He asked her, “Who are you? Where are you from? What are you doing here?” It was a long time before she thought of the true answer: “I'm Shen Xun. I came from the far north to the south of the clouds, to meet the love of my life.” He was her Morpheus, giving her a poppy-like dream of love, bewitching and intoxicating. He captured her soul, clouded her mind, and made her addicted. Like a pawn crossing a river, she went 25.2kReads9.7Score4.8k14d adds
8. 8 我 I Told You I Love You in Heaven 我在天堂说爱你 Ling Xi灵希Modern Romance122k WordsCompleted At fifteen, Junxi accidentally got blood from an AIDS patient into one of his wounds and contracted the disease. From then on, his normal life was completely upended, and he lived in constant fear that he could die at any moment. But Li Poxiao never left his side, giving him the courage to carry on. Through his pain, he smiled through his tears. “Brother Junxi, my greatest wish is to become your bride. You have to fight to stay alive, because… this is a dream only you can help me fulfill.” A lov 865Reads9.5Score19914d adds
9. 9 快 Quick Transmigration: The Host Is Determined to Die 快穿：宿主她一心求死 Nine Thousand Years九千岁Ancient Romance2.1M WordsCompleted Troubled girl Ruan Xiaoli committed suicide, then inexplicably got bound to something that called itself a System. It said, “What’s the fun in dying? I’ll take you to three thousand worlds to be the villain, destroy heaven and earth, and unleash chaos and bloodshed.” Ruan Xiaoli thought that sounded pretty interesting, so she agreed. But... hey, hey, hey! System, wasn’t the deal that I’d just play the villain? I’d destroy heaven and earth, then once I got bored, the world’s male lead would kill 13.3kReads9.5Score1.4k14d adds

   Reader note

   The third book is about multiple dimensions, and the male lead suffers terribly at the hands of the female lead! The second book's male lead doesn't know how to cherish the person in front of him, and the female lead is so pitiful; I almost cried several times reading it. The first three books are all above 9 points. I'm too lazy to introduce the rest.

10. 10 对 Sorry, We Don't Talk About Love After Dark 对不起，夜深不说爱 Model Huiyin模特徽因Urban1.6M WordsCompleted I didn’t care that people said I’d married up by latching onto a goddess, and I didn’t care that they called me a poor country boy who’d married into wealth. But when my wife’s best friend’s husband came looking for me, I realized I’d been naive. My wife, it turned out, really knew how to “enjoy” life… 12.2kReads8.7Score1.1k14d adds
11. 11 相 A Shattered Longing 相思碎 Green Ink青墨Two Male Leads49k WordsCompleted One meeting, and they were fated to be entangled for life. Jiang Lingyu never imagined that the person he loved most would destroy everything he treasured with his own hands. “If you ever betray me, I'll make you wish you were dead!” His dignity, his body, and his shattered heart were trampled underfoot and ground into dust. He had obeyed, begged for mercy, and fought back... but in the end, he could only surrender to fate. Who can truly see through love and hate entwined? When all was settled a 704Reads8.6Score10114d adds
12. 12 禁 Taboo: The Other Shore of Duality 禁忌：双之彼岸 Very Regretful非常遗憾Urban162k WordsOngoing From nothing to something, from something to nothing, from nothing to something, over and over. Shattered into pieces, I can no longer tell whether this is a dream or reality… A man and a woman stood beneath a cherry tree, swearing that naive, tragic oath. Mountains of corpses and seas of blood were nothing beside her smile. Cherry blossoms fell, but the dancer was nowhere to be seen. The girl asked, “What's your name?” The boy replied, “I'm Bai Chen, Lin Yuyao's little Bai, everyone's little Ch 81Reads7.3Score2914d adds
13. 13 江 Jiang Chuze, I Won’t Love You Anymore 江楚泽，我不会爱你了 Xiangli Xiaoxin香梨笑心Modern Romance722k WordsCompleted Everyone knows that An Ruoxuan, the beautiful eldest daughter of the An family in Xingdu, chased after the cold-faced young master of the Jiang family in Beicheng from the time they were children. She tried every way she could to cling to him, earning a reputation as his little shadow and a stalker. But then the aloof young master got together with Su Munan, An Ruoxuan's best friend... Eight years later, Jiang Chuze turned around and married An Ruoxuan. She thought she was going to heaven, but i 1.5kReads8.5Score10114d adds

    Reader note

    These three books are the most heart-wrenching in my opinion. In the first one, the female lead suffers from depression. She went diving with the boy she liked, intending to confess her feelings after his successful dive. However, the diving equipment she was checking resulted in the boy's eternal death at the bottom of the sea. The female lead feels immense guilt and ultimately dies. The second book, both the novel and the TV series, is excellent. From everyone's perspective in "East Palace," the tragedy is palpable, and the female lead dies in the end. In the third book, the male lead chooses the second female lead over the female lead, partly because she possesses information and partly out of guilt. Later, in a dramatic turn of events, he kills the second female lead, but the female lead doesn't repent. She is then raped by the second male lead, who eventually falls in love with her. In the end, the female lead, the second male lead, and the male lead all die!

14. 14 宫 The Willow by the Palace Wall 宫墙柳 Dream Doll梦娃Ancient Romance166k WordsCompleted Why must the imperial consorts compete for the emperor’s favor? A smash-hit, heart-wrenching historical romance that burst onto the scene in 2019! Recommended by countless tearful readers, this unconventional palace-intrigue novel will stay with you long after you finish. In the lightest of styles, it captures everyone’s deepest regrets. In May of the year I turned fourteen, with the pagoda trees in fragrant bloom, I sat in Yong’an Palace, propping up my head as I dozed. The man’s laughter held 48.6kReads9.7Score7.1k14d adds

    Reader note

    My most treasured book is "He Is in the South of the Clouds".

15. 15 月 Moonlight No Longer Shines on Dreams of the Past 月光不照昔时梦 Xu Zhimeng许织梦Modern Romance189k WordsCompleted [Angst Warning] Qu Zhao: “Are you afraid…” “Afraid of what?” “That someday, your daughter will meet a man like you, just as I did.” Even the sun will one day die. The Milky Way and Andromeda are expected to collide in three billion years. Everything has an end. What about her and Fu Zongxian? Surely this madness would end someday. In his thirty years of life, Fu Zongxian had never asked for anything for himself. But at that moment, gazing at the photograph of his mother, he couldn’t help praying 2.8kReads8.9Score20214d adds

    Reader note

    I highly recommend this book! The writing is good, and it's definitely angsty. The male lead treats the female lead badly at first, and even after learning the truth, she doesn't forgive him. In the end, she ends up with the second male lead, which is particularly heartbreaking, but this ending is actually the best ending.

16. 16 疯 After Reforming, the Mad Enchantress Has Every God at Her Feet 疯批妖姬洗白后，诸神皆为裙下臣 One Who Came Running Out of the Mountains大山里跑出来的Ancient Romance1.1M WordsCompleted [Transmigrate into a book, everyone dotes on her, everyone gets their comeuppance, the villainess is redeemed, but she refuses to forgive] After transmigrating into a book as Jun Qing, a wicked female demon condemned by Heaven, she fails to clear her name time and time again because of the Heavenly Dao’s restrictions. Her Imperial Lord father strips her of her divine status. Her three older brothers despise her. The little slave she took in betrays her, and her God of War disciple personally dra 1.7kReads8.6Score32814d adds

    Reader note

    This is alright, but it might not be that angsty.

17. 17 宦 A Eunuch's Ambitions: Tormented by the World of Mortals 宦情：红尘虐 Meeting on the Fifth, Like Old Friends初五见如故Ancient Romance252k WordsCompleted [Not a chaste couple + truly eunuch male lead + sweet at first, angst later + devoted love] Wang Yunqu had been inexplicably fixated on Xiao Qibai since childhood. Even after he was subjected to castration, she still married him without hesitation, exchanging vows and sharing their wedding night. She thought they would live happily together in mutual love from then on. But the emperor threatened her with the life of the person she loved, forcibly made her a consort, and compelled her to bear a d 204Reads6.4Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    The male lead is a eunuch who falls in love with the female lead, but the emperor steals her away. The two leads then engage in a series of torments.

18. 18 偏 Obsessive, Toxic Love: After His Wife Goes Mad, Mr. Fu Dies 偏执毒爱：夫人疯后傅总他死了 Pu XiaochuA蒲小初AModern Romance501k WordsCompleted [Both Have Past Relationships + Captivity + A Chasing-His-Wife-to-the-Crematorium Arc + Both Die] Original title: Burning My Life to Love You “Please, let me go.” After an accident led her into his territory, she humbly begged him to spare her, but he threw her into the mountains, where she endured every kind of hardship and cruelty. Three months later, she escaped and sent them all to prison in one fell swoop. Two years later, he returned to his homeland and dragged her from her peaceful life i 2Reads8.2Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    Give it a try!

19. 19 凤 The Phoenix God Tomb 凤凰神墓 The Babbling Stream溪水潺潺Two Male Leads202k WordsCompleted [Devoted affection + obsessive + yandere + love-triangle drama + utterly cruel] [Naive + obedient + stunningly beautiful + deeply devoted + unwavering to the death] On Qin Yu’s birthday, two wishes were made. The first was for him to be supremely noble and untouched by the world. The second was for her to stay by his side for a long, long time. He also promised that she would be happy all her life, never knowing sorrow. But later, that blessing became a curse she could never escape. And the rest 139Reads9.2Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    It's so cruel! The very beginning was heartbreaking.

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