Underrated Romance: Engaging and Free of Tired Tropes 小众言情 耐看 不老套路

1. 1151 京 Collected Memories of Beijing and Hong Kong 京港拾记 Murmuring Desert大漠潺潺Modern Romance327k WordsCompleted [Love at first sight + marriage before love + sweet romance + happy ending] The first time they met, Lin Can never imagined that the fair-skinned, clean-cut “college boy” was the fearsome young master of Hong Kong’s Song family. The first time they met, Song Siyan thought the alluring woman who frequented the private club’s drinking parties was an actress from mainland China who had come to Hong Kong to make a name for herself by stripping. Their mutual attraction was sparked by looks, and the c 1.6kReads8.2Score162Shelves
2. 1152 第 The Boy Who First Made My Heart Flutter 第一次心动的男孩 Gu Yuewei古月薇40k WordsCompleted The Boy I First Fell For 19Reads—Score—Shelves

   Reader note

   The author uses her own life as the basis for this novel, written from her real diary. The female protagonist lives in a family that favors sons over daughters. During junior high school, she suffered from severe depression due to unwarranted beatings and even abuse from her mother. However, limited by her social status, she couldn't escape the control of her family, struggling for half her life in a quagmire of suffering. Set in the 1990s, the protagonist, due to her youth, timidity, and lack of courage, repeatedly rejects and avoids the male protagonist, missing out on a deeply unforgettable first love due to the constraints of her family. The story is initially sweet, then turns heartbreaking, filled with unrequited love. They fall in love at the wrong time, when they are both in school, and at the right time, their love remains unspoken. In an era without cell phones, two introverted and shy people cannot communicate, and later they lose contact, leaving the reader with a profound sense of unease.

3. 1153 认 After Mistaking Him for Someone Else, I Became the Boss's Secretary? 认错人后，我竟然成了老板秘书？ Knowing It’s Not Too Late知不晚Modern Romance330k WordsCompleted [Sharp-tongued male lead who gets his comeuppance later + light, sweet workplace romance + both leads are each other's one and only] A cold, sharp-tongued CEO and a kind, face-blind office worker Le Qinghan is a total couch potato, severely face-blind, and her ultimate passion is money! Her greatest dream in life is to save enough to retire. At a department gathering, caught up in the moment, she mistook someone for another person. When they mocked her as a toad reaching for a swan, Le Qinghan w 182Reads—Score—Shelves
4. 1154 鸳 When Will the Mandarin Ducks Stop Repaying Their Debts? 鸳鸯相报何时了 Egrets in Pairs白鹭成双Ancient Romance327k WordsCompleted Du Weiyang had admired Gu Qinhuai for three years. She never expected him to suddenly become a prince consort, so in a fit of anger, she threw a smoke bomb into the wedding hall. Wei Xianyuan had also loved Princess Qi Yu for three years. He never expected her to suddenly be getting married, so in a fit of anger, he took advantage of the smoke bomb and tried to steal the bride! Unexpectedly, they failed to abduct anyone, the wedding did not descend into chaos, and the two of them became assass 587Reads8.5Score103Shelves
5. 1155 强 After Forcing the New Top Scholar to Marry Me, I Was Imprisoned by the Emperor 强娶新科状元后，我被皇帝囚禁了 A Melody of Rain一曲雨Ancient Romance417k WordsCompleted [A deranged male disciple begs for love VS a cool, unyielding female mentor] After the new emperor ascends the throne, Song Yanqing rises to become the imperial tutor to the reigning empress, earning unmatched prestige and the envy of all. But she knows that the higher one climbs, the harder one falls, so she carefully observes the boundaries between sovereign and subject and watches her words and actions every day. What she never expected was that the emperor would catch her out on the only tw 3kReads8.8Score357Shelves
6. 1156 沈 Miss Shen's Engagement Cancellation Plan Failed 沈姑娘退婚计划失败 Green Mountains in the Distance远看青山Ancient Romance394k WordsCompleted Shen Qingyun had an enviable betrothal, one that made everyone in the world green with envy. But she had no desire to marry. To make the noblewoman in the palace call off the engagement, the Shen family spread rumors that their youngest daughter was willful and unreasonable. After a long wait, someone finally arrived from the imperial capital. She happily accepted the decree, only for the eunuch’s announcement to hit her like a bolt from the blue. Shen Qingyun’s face went deathly pale on the s 3.8kReads8.9Score514Shelves
7. 1157 有 Don’t You Dare Ask to Remarry 有本事别复婚 Milk Dipped in Sugar牛乳蘸糖Modern Romance348k WordsCompleted [A sharp-tongued, proud has-been actress x a cunning, caustic new top-tier star of a director] [Reunion after years apart + rekindled romance + childhood sweethearts + devoted to each other + sweet everyday romance] The second year after her divorce, has-been award-winning actress Jian Jing joined a lowbrow, raunchy dating show just to earn enough to get by. Who would have guessed she’d run into her ex-husband on set? As a newly popular director, he was lowering himself to direct such a trashy d 25.9kReads9.4Score2.4kShelves
8. 1158 沈 Mr. Shen, Your Time Is Up 沈先生，逾期不候 Milk Dipped in Sugar牛乳蘸糖Modern Romance456k WordsCompleted White Moonlight + married first, fall in love later + the husband pursues his wife after the divorce The day Meng Qiong returned from a business trip to Sydney, her plane nearly had an accident, and the news remained at the top of the trending charts. But when she rushed home, still shaken, she found her husband, Shen Fengxi, getting cozy with a new intern from the TV station in the living room. The young woman jumped up in alarm when she saw Meng Qiong, but Shen Fengxi blamed Meng Qiong for fr 7.2kReads8.7Score453Shelves
9. 1159 结 My Husband Held a Knife to My Throat on Our Wedding Anniversary 结婚纪念日丈夫用刀抵住我脖子 Wise or Foolish睿或愚Modern Romance142k WordsCompleted “On our third wedding anniversary, he held a knife to my throat in the Kizil Caves. ‘Hand over the phone Chen Zhongyun gave you.’ I smashed the phone and turned around to report all the evidence of his embezzlement, affairs, and murders. To get the evidence, he rammed me with his car, while his men dragged my mother into a secret detention ward...” An independent woman, a career professional, neither saintly nor submissive. She gets her scumbag husband sent to prison, then finds a younger collea 1Reads—Score—Shelves

   Reader note

   Tomato's New Book Review | On our wedding anniversary, my husband held a knife to my neck. The career-driven heroine fought back with clarity, taking revenge on the scumbag and building her career. Super satisfying! Please add this to your bookshelf and read it. Thank you!

10. 1160 追 Pursuing My Own Happiness 追求自己幸福 Bright Sunny Day灿烂晴天Modern Romance61k WordsCompleted Wang Mudan runs her family’s traditional Chinese medicine clinic, while Song Chenchen is a kindergarten teacher. The two young women are best friends from ordinary families. A dispute over an exorbitant bride price causes trouble, but after several rounds of mediation, both women eventually walk down the aisle. —Reads—Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    The first book's male lead is the female lead's high school mentor. After graduating from university, to repay her mentor, the female lead introduces a female classmate to him as his girlfriend. To develop her career, the female lead gives up her assigned job and stays in the city to work.

11. 1161 青 The Green-Robed Judicial Officer 青衣司直 Damascus, Perhaps大马士革呢Mystery301k WordsOngoing She dances on the edge of a blade. She is the greatest unsolved mystery of all. Taking on her dead brother's identity, Shen Qingci became the lowest-ranking investigator in the Qingyi Bureau. Everyone mocked her for her pretty face and her lack of strength. But with her incredible memory, she solved one bizarre case after another and made a name for herself in the capital. Only her superior, Lu Yi, a man with power over the entire court, grew more and more curious as he watched her. He cornered —Reads—Score—Shelves
12. 1162 机 Captain, Fly Straight Into My Heart 机长小姐，来我心上请直飞 Zhao Le昭乐Modern Romance300k WordsCompleted [China’s first female C919 captain and a notorious air traffic controller | Stunning and seductive x devoted troublemaker | Second chance at love + intense push and pull] (Print edition signed; short drama now streaming) In her fifth year as a first officer, Zhu Qingyuan faced an incident in which the captain became incapacitated. She calmly took control of the aircraft and landed the flight carrying 157 passengers safely. When the media asked her about it afterward, the first thing Zhu Qingyu 3.6kReads8.8Score558Shelves
13. 1163 少 Lord Shaoqing 少卿大人 Meng Xixi萌晞晞Ancient Romance234k WordsCompleted Although Shen Liuting was the eldest daughter of the prime minister’s household, she had an unusual dream: to travel through every kingdom and write a book about her journeys. On her fifteenth birthday, Shen Liuting packed her bags in the middle of the night, took her banknotes, and really did leave the country. That journey lasted a full three years... When Shen Liuting returned home on her eighteenth birthday, her parents told her they had already found her a fiancé and even had their birth da 871Reads9.3Score111Shelves

    Reader note

    Quickly grab this book if you're looking for something to read! The novel, "The Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial," is incredibly captivating. A man in charge of diplomatic etiquette, receiving envoys from various countries, and negotiating relentlessly, he exudes a cool and aloof demeanor while secretly showing a deep affection for the female lead, gentle and indulgent, yet his jealousy is barely concealed. It combines court intrigue with mutual attraction, without any rivalry or angst, and boasts a smooth, increasingly addictive pace.

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