Period Stories With No Marriage, Kids, or Childcare, and No Romance 😕 I’m Desperate for Something to Read 年代文，不结婚 不生子 不带娃 无cp😕书荒严重

1. 1 都 We're All Transmigrating to Immortality, So Who Still Dates? 都穿越长生了，谁还谈恋爱？ There's a Cat Called Daidai有一只猫叫呆呆Fantastical Romance1.1M WordsCompleted Quick transmigration + no romance + satisfying read + historical eras + heroine’s perspective + no storage space + her only golden finger is letting her transmigrate The world may try to teach me, but I was born unteachable! Li Ci died in a car accident. The good news: a spatial artifact named Huanhuan takes her across different dimensions. The bad news: it can’t control the conditions for possessing a body. Whichever corpse she finds is the one she gets. It’s chatty, cheeky, and sharp-tongued, 4.6kReads8.9Score47814d adds

   Reader note

   Underrated quick transmigration novels: those with brains can safely prolong their lives.

2. 2 反 The Villainous Young Lady Is Actually a Research Genius! 反派大小姐竟然是科研大佬！ Cat Lantern Guest猫灯客Modern Romance2.0M WordsCompleted [Transmigrate Into a Book + Period Setting + Scientific Research + Fake and Real Heiresses + A Rising Nation] The standard period-novel setup: a scheming adopted daughter, a domineering male lead chasing after his love, wealthy-family feuds, and a protagonist who wins at life through romance. Lu Zhaozhao flips through the script and falls silent for three seconds. ...Fair enough, but I’m not taking part. On the first day after transmigrating into the body of a vicious rich-girl villain, her biol 25.7kReads8.5Score3.5k14d adds

   Reader note

   Highly recommended!

3. 3 天 The Sky Is Falling! The Compound Daughter-in-Law Is Actually a Fake Heiress 天塌了！大院儿媳竟是假千金 Cat Who Loves Houttuynia折耳根的猫Modern Romance543k WordsCompleted [The short drama adaptation, “The Sky Has Fallen: The Compound Daughter-in-Law Was Adopted,” is now streaming on Hongguo and Tomato simultaneously] [Period Drama + Military Marriage + Space + Marriage First, Love Later + Putting Villains in Their Place + Farming + Food] Three years into her son’s marriage, his wife, Gu Chunmiao, returns to her hometown with her luggage, looking utterly dejected. Li Xiufen, her mother-in-law, feels as if the sky has fallen! The daughter-in-law she’d always bragge 7.4kReads8.4Score97314d adds

   Reader note

   The old lady focused on her career, and together with her fake heiress daughter-in-law, they became incredibly wealthy through farming. [Smirk]

4. 4 谁 Who Says You Have to Get Married in a Period Novel? 谁说年代文一定要结婚了 Feng Xu风溆Modern Romance309k WordsCompleted [Just Started Getting Ratings] No CP + period setting + ensemble cast The heroine studies mechanical manufacturing. As an observer, Song Rujue watches another “Song Rujue” grow up. She watches her go from babbling as a toddler to vowing to serve her country, then to using every underhanded tactic to get a married man, and finally to being tricked and dying a miserable death in the countryside. The book, "Military Marriage in the Seventies: After Marrying a Rough-Hewn Man, I Was Spoiled Rotten", 2.5kReads8.0Score18814d adds

   Reader note

   Perfect for this subject!

5. 5 五 The 1950s: Becoming My Hometown's First Female County Magistrate 五十年代，做家乡的第一个女县长 Shengsheng625生生625Modern Romance787k WordsOngoing New title: "After Getting Into University in 1954, I Steadily Work My Way Up" No romance, historical setting, female protagonist in government administration [Female Career Story] [No Romance] [Steady Progress] [Blind Box System] [Building Up Her Hometown] Tags: Strong female lead, focused on her career, government administration Historical setting spanning the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s Strong female lead, not a wish-fulfillment story, grounded in reality, steady and methodical, no awful family me 26.2kReads8.5Score2.9k14d adds

   Reader note

   This book features a female protagonist who goes into politics; it's very good.

6. 6 六 The 1960s: After Getting into Technical College, I Secure a Cadre Position 六零：考上中专后，我稳坐干部岗 Don't Know Any Better孬不道Modern Romance999k WordsCompleted [1960s + everyday life + extremely, extremely slow-paced + family squabbles + no rural assignment + vocational school entrance exams + few awful relatives] [This is a female-oriented novel! The heroine is an ordinary person, not a powerhouse heroine. Please don’t read if that bothers you.] Heartbroken and still looking for an internship? To escape reality, senior college student Zhou Yuan casually signed a contract for the full-immersion game Awakening. When she opened her eyes, she had become Z 17.7kReads8.5Score1.3k14d adds

   Reader note

   [Add one to your bookshelf] Heartwarming slice-of-life stories, no military marriage, no stepmother, female lead is intelligent, attends vocational school, and doesn't go to the countryside.

7. 7 她 She Was a Sent-Down Educated Youth in the 1970s 她是七零年代下乡女知青 Golden Flowers金色的花花Modern Romance500k WordsCompleted Yao Jinling's family has seven people: two adults and five children. They all rely on her father, Yao Wang, and his single salary to get by. The family never has enough to eat or wear, and everyone is skin and bones... They could have endured this life for a few more years. Once the older children grew up and found jobs, things would have improved. But just as her older brother and sister reached working age and could help support the family, her mother got pregnant again! She gave birth to anot 892Reads7.0Score10514d adds

   Reader note

   No romantic pairing.

8. 8 重 Reborn in the 1980s: I Opened My Eyes on the Day She Became a Widow 重生八零，睁眼回到她当寡妇那天 Golden Flowers金色的花花Modern Romance316k WordsCompleted Li Jinyu met her late husband, Zhao Dazhuang, through a matchmaker. Zhao Dazhuang had returned home on leave from the army when he fell in love with her at first sight. The day after their blind date, he rushed to submit a marriage application to his unit, begging his superior to expedite the approval. It finally came through before he had to return to his post. Grinning as he held their brand-new marriage certificate, he took their photo back to the army with him. He wanted all his fellow soldi 263Reads—Score1214d adds
9. 9 七 Signing In to Become a Rich Woman in the Seventies 七零签到做富婆 Have Some Coconut Juice喝椰汁吧Modern Romance874k WordsOngoing [No Romance + Extremely Generous Sign-In System + A Touch of Ensemble Cast] Jiang Lai transmigrates into the body of an educated youth sent to the countryside, a girl neither of her parents cares for. Luckily, fate is kind to her and gives her a System that lets her sign in for rewards. Day one sign-in: Supplies doubled, nationwide travel passes, a portable space, cash rewards... Day two sign-in: A portable space that can store living creatures Day three sign-in: Ten properties in a small fishin 26kReads7.5Score3.4k14d adds
10. 10 重 Reborn in 1975, I Send My Nephew to College 重生七五年扔掉外甥上大学 Curly Cat Whiskers猫胡子卷卷Modern Romance570k WordsCompleted The rating has only just come in and will gradually rise. [Reborn] + [space] + [spirit spring] Shen Yun is reborn in the year of her high school entrance exams: When she wakes up, it's the day she just disturbed a hornets' nest. Her head is swollen like a giant winter melon, but that doesn't stop her from giving her sister-in-law a thorough beating as soon as she gets back. In her previous life, she raised her sister-in-law's child and cared for her sister-in-law's mother after she broke her leg 52.4kReads7.9Score8.3k14d adds
11. 11 真 The Real Heiress Lands a Secure Job in the 1970s 真千金竟在七零端上了铁饭碗 Wu Yiyan吴一言Modern Romance529k WordsCompleted (No romance) Zhao Jinshu died in a tide of insects in the year 2977 of the Star Era. When she woke up, she had become Zhao Jinshu in 1977 AD. As an all-around powerhouse from the interstellar future, she finds the place poor, but it has the natural, unpolluted food she loves, so she’s fairly satisfied. Just as she gets settled, her biological parents show up, and they’re no ordinary people. On top of that, their adopted daughter has taken her place as the real heiress. Why would she accept them? 1.5kReads6.4Score11814d adds

    Reader note

    It perfectly meets your requirements!

12. 12 穿 Reborn as the Most Hated Woman of the Era, I Get Supplies from My Best Friend Across Space 穿成年代万人嫌，闺蜜隔空塞物资 Rice Bowl 114饭碗114Modern Romance616k WordsOngoing (Dual female leads + Ensemble cast + golden finger + Family drama + Unhinged + Losing it + Feel-good story + Strong female lead + Period setting + Putting scumbags in their place + Daily life) Content warning: unhinged story, terrible people included. Chen Xiaomai, whose mental state was spectacularly abnormal in the 21st century, transmigrated into a book. The heroine was her stepsister, the villain was her biological sister, and she was the pawn both families used in their schemes. Her birth 60.5kReads8.8Score7.5k14d adds

    Reader note

    So far, no male characters with whom the female lead has a close relationship have appeared; only the female lead and her best friend have been introduced.

13. 13 一 A Farming Life for One Person and One Vine! 一人一藤蔓的种田生活！ Jiaojiao's Willfulness娇娇的任性Modern Romance1.4M WordsCompleted Transmigration + Alternate World + Spatial Dimension + Wood-Type Superpower + No Romance + Farming + Stockpiling Supplies + Food + A Little Vine + Period Story + Superhuman Strength + Living Alone in the Mountains + Peaceful Daily Life + (I love my daughter! She’s happy, thank you!) Also known as: A Farming Life with One Person and One Vine! A diary-like story! A diary-like story! A diary-like story! Important things are worth saying three times! It’s a story about watching the sun rise and set 5.2kReads8.4Score71114d adds

    Reader note

    That's perfect.

14. 14 穿 Transmigrating into a Book in the 1970s: The Educated Youth Goes Wild, with Endless Schemes 穿书七零：知青发癫，套路无边 Shabby School Heartthrob破烂校草Modern Romance534k WordsCompleted [Alternate history + Period setting + Transmigrate into a book + Pocket dimension + Everyone is a villain + Ensemble cast + No romance + Mystery?] After dying in an apocalypse novel, Xu Qinglan transmigrates into a book again. This time, she's a sacrificial nobody forced to go to the countryside in a period novel! If she resists being sent away, she'll be trapped in an endless loop. After dying countless times, she finally gives in. The protagonist seems like a delicate, innocent white lotus wit 27.8kReads9.1Score3.5k14d adds

    Reader note

    1. No romantic pairing. The main characters are Xu Sangbiao, a post-apocalyptic warrior; Lu Jianqiang, a famine refugee from ancient times with medical skills; and Chen Tianzhen, a character with incredible strength (from a fictional character). They live a simple life in the countryside, eating and drinking together. Later, they turn the entire village into a labor camp, and after the college entrance exam, they blow it up. 2. No romantic pairing. Aside from the Zheng family, who initially wanted to marry the female lead, most of the villagers, village officials, and public servants are good people. The overall story is positive and uplifting. The protagonist is the deputy county magistrate.

15. 15 回 Back to 1968: I Won't Be a Baby-Making Tool 回到1968：我不当送子工具人 Little Orange Who Loves Strawberries爱吃草莓的小橙子Modern Romance643k WordsCompleted [No CP] [Period] [Book Transmigration] [Women's awakening] [Political career] [Scientific research] [Pocket dimension] [No child-rearing] [Ensemble cast] [Reborn] Xie Yun, a modern orphan, returns to 1968 and becomes Xie Yun, a country girl raised by a widowed mother, with an exceptionally capable younger brother named Xie Shen. She discovers that she hasn't just transmigrated through time, she's also transmigrated into a book: a story about a stepmother raising children, where she is the first 10.4kReads9.3Score83714d adds
16. 16 手 Armed with the Villainess's Script, I Only Want to Go to College 手拿女配剧本，我却只想考大学 Jiang Liangjiang江凉姜Modern Romance1.2M WordsCompleted (Period setting + ensemble cast + colorful characters + daily life + family squabbles) Lin Ermai transmigrated into a book, armed with the most popular script for a vicious supporting female character. At best, she could change her fate and trounce the original heroine; at worst, she would be trounced by the heroine, just as the script dictated. The heroine is sweet and gentle. As a child, she was the prettiest flower in Lotus Village; as an adult, she became the dream girl of every eligible you 11.5kReads8.2Score1.1k14d adds

    Reader note

    Primarily focused on personal and family growth

17. 17 穿 I Transmigrate into a Book as a Middle-Aged Woman, Just as the Heroine Tries to Steal My Golden Finger 穿书成大妈，女主正想抢夺金手指 Nian Lianqiu念莲秋Modern Romance581k WordsCompleted [Transmigrate Into a Book, Period Setting, Pocket Dimension, Punish the Scum, No Whitewashing, No Forgiveness! A Touch of Ensemble Cast, Domestic Life, Building a Career] [No CP: No divorce, only widowhood! Sisters, let's not give her another man later, okay? Men are poison, and old men are even less worth bothering with. Let's not let them mess with our Hua!] Liu Xiaohua, a woman past the usual age for marriage, was forcibly sent by the System into a period novel. In an instant, she became the 14.9kReads8.2Score1.6k14d adds
18. 18 都 Now That I'm Reborn, Why Get Married? Obviously, I'll Make Money 都重生了谁还嫁人，当然赚钱啊 Chi Yu Ru Hai池渔洳海Modern Romance510k WordsCompleted [Starting a Business and Making Money+Top Student+No Romance+Feel-Good Female Lead+Period Piece] Jiang Yu is reborn in 1994. In this life, she refuses to follow her mother to the city for school. She'll stay in the county, sell porridge, and open a food court. With her foresight and skills as a food blogger, watch her turn 250 yuan into a hundred billion... She'll make money and study hard, both at once! 1.4kReads8.9Score11514d adds

    Reader note

    This is a typical female protagonist reborn in the 1990s, a story about a successful career! No romantic pairing, already completed. [Thumbs up]

19. 19 星 The Interstellar Age’s Top Lie-Flat Master 星际第一躺平学大师 Unreliable Cheese Tart不靠谱芝士蛋挞Sci-Fi & Apocalypse687k WordsOngoing [Interstellar, transmigration, school life, strong heroine, no romance] [The rating just came out, so it’ll rise later.] After two lifetimes of pushing herself to the limit, she’s taking a break this time. Ying Ci swore she wouldn’t overwork herself in this life. She’d lie flat and let people laugh. In her first two lives, Ying Ci worked herself to the bone: from a small-town exam machine to a C9 university national scholarship winner, and from an outer-sect disciple to the undisputed prodigy at 44.3kReads9.0Score7.3k14d adds

    Reader note

    Numbers 1 and 2 have a joke.

20. 20 游 Game Descends: The Original Heroine Flips the Table on the Spot 游戏降临：原女主选择当场掀桌 Shun Yunhua舜云华Fantastical Romance1.9M WordsOngoing [Reborn + No Romance + Unhinged + Lone Wolf] Content warning: There are pets. The protagonist had a romance in her previous life, but there is no romance in this life. She isn’t invincible from the start, and the early part is on the dark side. She is a female lead who had her fortune stolen and must win everything back on her own. Her dark past is the road that brought her here. The hardened version of the female lead won’t take her anger out on everyone, and will give ordinary people a chance 38.8kReads8.4Score5.1k14d adds
21. 21 真 A Real Princess? No, a Real Monarch! 真公主？不，真君主！ Cherry Berry樱桃莓莓Sci-Fi & Apocalypse1.4M WordsOngoing (No romance + Strong female lead + Military academy competition in the early stages + Unifying humanity in the later stages + Passionate) Question: How many steps does it take to evolve from a monarch’s juvenile form to its complete form? Juvenile Ling Zhao: Orphanage from the start, with a game chip suspected to be a golden finger that keeps holding her back. Complete Ling Zhao: The first person of the post-interstellar era, first commander, divine star-caster, hope of humanity, sole heir to th 109.7kReads9.4Score15.6k14d adds
22. 22 我 Me, a Vicious Female Supporting Character? I’ll Tear Through the Long Aotian Plot! 我，恶毒女配？杀穿龙傲天剧本！ Old Man Peach Blossom桃花老人Fantastical Romance818k WordsOngoing [Villain, no romance, System, no morals] Xi Zhengyu transmigrates into a male-oriented novel as the vicious ex-fiancée of the arrogant male lead. A side character doomed to a tragic ending, used as a foil to make the male lead look good? Thanks for the offer, but she’s not interested. Villainy System: [Break off the engagement on the spot and humiliate the male lead mercilessly to earn a Creation-grade divine medicine.] [Cripple the male lead’s closest friend to earn a Creation-grade sword 69kReads9.1Score11.7k14d adds
23. 23 穿 Transmigrated to the 1970s, This Cannon Fodder Won't Accept Her Fate 穿越到七零后炮灰绝不认命 Li Doesn't Quite Understand李不太懂Modern Romance304k WordsOngoing [Period setting + transmigrate into a book + System + ensemble cast + no romance + no going to the countryside] Modern rich beauty Li Zhaodi transmigrates into a book after a plane crash, landing in a period novel as a minor cannon-fodder character! Her whole family are bit-part cannon fodder in someone else's story. Her mother is pressured into remarrying, so she makes the real culprit marry instead. Her sister is tricked into marriage and wants to die. This time, it’s her brother-in-law who wa 1.8kReads—Score22914d adds

    Reader note

    This book is pretty good; I haven't seen any major flaws yet.

24. 24 中 Starting Out as a Vocational School Student, I Worked My Factory to the Bone 中专生开局，我把工厂卷疯了 Peach Heart Rainbow桃心彩虹Modern Romance635k WordsOngoing A modern quality-control worker transmigrates to the famine years of the 1960s. The moment she opens her eyes, she faces a desperate situation: the high school entrance exam has been suspended, and she's being forced to go to the countryside. To avoid being sent down, she promptly skips grades, studies hard, gets into a technical secondary school, and secures a stable job at a state-owned enterprise, successfully escaping that fate. She doesn't have any miraculous talent that will make her famou 34.2kReads8.2Score3.4k14d adds

    Reader note

    Currently, there are 130 chapters without a romantic pairing. The female lead takes her high school entrance exam early, gets into a vocational school, and is assigned to a state-owned factory. She acquires modern mechanical knowledge and works hard to build her career.

25. 25 重 Back in 1995, Building a Business While My Little One Strikes It Rich Treasure Hunting 重回九五搞事业，崽崽靠寻宝致富 Shi Nian柿唸Modern Romance507k WordsCompleted Just got its rating... Cozy everyday life + period setting + reborn + building wealth + raising kids + no romance + a touch of ensemble cast Chen Jiayan woke up one day to find herself back in 1995, when she was five years old, just before a high fever nearly left her stupid. Looking back, her life hadn’t been all that terrible, and there was no one she’d loved but couldn’t have. Looking at her family, decades younger, and their many hardships, she clenched her little fists and gazed out at the 627Reads8.0Score—14d adds
26. 26 从 Changing the World, One Supernatural Chive at a Time 从培育出超凡韭菜开始改变世界 Little Fujian Farmer闽间小农Rural Life404k WordsCompleted [Period novel + farming + slice-of-life System + food + slow burn + no heroine + unconventional power fantasy] Question: What are the most frustrating things about novels where someone transmigrates back to the past and starts farming? Answer: The protagonist has such an overpowered cheat, but the story still saddles them with a bunch of relatives like Pokemon, endlessly bickering about family affairs. Why can't they just get on with farming?! And they've already had a modern education, so why d 626Reads6.8Score10614d adds

    Reader note

    This fits; focusing solely on career development.

27. 27 带 I Returned to the '90s with a Tycoon System to Spoil Myself 带着神豪系统回到90养自己 Mo Duo moreduo莫多moreduoModern Romance38k WordsCompleted I Returned to the '90s with a Tycoon System to Take Care of Myself 700Reads—Score—14d adds
28. 28 重 Back to the 1970s, Spoiling Grandma and Taking Down Scumbags 重回七零，傍着奶奶肆意虐渣吃瓜 Jin Yuan Manying槿园满盈Modern Romance159k WordsOngoing (1970s setting + space ability + superpowers + food + reborn + transmigrate into a book + face-slapping + broken engagement + true and fake heiresses + everyday family life + stockpiling + building wealth + punishing scumbags + gossip-watching + strong female lead + feel-good + old lady + comedy) Timid and spineless Lin Xiaoxi spent two whole lives meekly struggling to survive. After blowing herself up at the end of the world, she thought she was done for good. Instead, she was reborn in the sum 56Reads—Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    A historical novel, featuring characters who do not marry or have children.

Other lists with We're All Transmigrating to Immortality, So Who Still Dates?