Hardcore Books That Actually Teach You Something 硬核书籍，可以学到知识的那种。
Translated by GPT-6 Luna
In this list
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251
Scenes from the Past 往事一幕幕
The book Moments from the Past is a collection of my memories of youth. I remember my father, mother, and older sister farming in Yangdun Township, Zengwan Village, and Linchangwan, and my sister and me attending Huangxiaowan Primary School. I remember the difficult years at Yaogang Village Primary School, and the education and care that Teacher Huang, Teacher Chu, Teacher Chen, Teacher Dai, and Principal Fan gave my sister and me. I am also deeply grateful to these teachers for working tireless
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252
Undercurrents: The Hidden Logic of Society 潜流：社会运行隐秘逻辑
Every day, we live within a vast web woven from countless rules, norms, habits, and unspoken assumptions. Why can tiny changes trigger enormous ripple effects? Why do the best intentions sometimes lead to the worst outcomes? Why does group behavior so often seem “irrational”? Through 120 carefully crafted, entirely original allegorical stories, Hidden Currents gradually reveals the answers. Each story is a thought experiment, an exposé of a cognitive trap, and a key to unlocking the core rules o
33Reads—Score—Shelves
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253
Late Night at the Internet Cafe: A Three-Yuan Comeback 网吧深夜：三块钱的逆袭
My name is Lin Yuan. I’m twenty-nine, own three homes and two cars, and have achieved financial freedom. But thirteen years ago, I was a broke kid who had to pay rent in installments. My biggest dream was to order an extra duck leg at Shaxian Snacks without a second thought. Everything changed in the summer of 2010. I was pulling an all-nighter at an internet cafe, dead tired, when I clicked on a foreign tech forum on a whim. I couldn’t actually read English; the Chinese websites were just too
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254
Awaken Your Mind: Break Through the Bottleneck Before You Make Money 认知觉醒：搞钱先破局干货版
This book brings together 60 essays offering in-depth reflections. Starting from the roots of thought, it helps you rethink information, assets, and trends. Rather than dealing in empty platitudes, the book guides you through breaking down dilemmas and building a systematic understanding of wealth. It helps you make the shift from “consumer” to “producer” and find your place amid change. Only by awakening your awareness can you break through.
14Reads—Score—Shelves
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255
Awakening: My Road to Soaring Wealth 开窍：我的财富狂飙之路
Why do some people work hard their whole lives and still worry about money? While others make a fortune every day, all with a laugh and a smile? I used to be one of the former, ground into the dirt by life, until the day I finally saw the light. This isn’t mysticism. It’s a shift in how you think. Once you unblock the channels of wealth, you’ll realize that making money is the easiest thing in the world. Understand human nature, and you can handle people. See through the logic, and you can sei
5.7kReads6.7Score292Shelves
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Human Nature Is the Cause, Wealth the Effect 人性是因，财富是果
Wealth never exists apart from human nature. Greed and fear, arrogance and humility, stinginess and generosity: qualities that seem unrelated to money are precisely what determine where wealth flows and where it ends up. Some say wealth is a numbers game, but in truth, it is the outward expression of the human heart. Some people chase money all their lives and end up empty-handed, while others focus on creating value and wealth comes to them. Some grow rich overnight only to fall back into pover
13.6kReads6.5Score488Shelves
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257
Republic-Era Mystery: The Nine Dragons' Enigma 民国奇案：九龙迷踪
In 1936, undercurrents churned through Jiangcheng. Detective Shen Yanzhi was investigating the sudden death of the city’s richest man when he was forced to join forces with the cool, striking forensic pathologist Su Qingli. A bloodstained bronze gui vessel concealed a deadly secret, a songstress’s earring held a coded Japanese military message, and the handle of an excrement boat’s oar was carved with a secret Green Gang code. Every clue pointed to a dark abyss. They were shocked to discover tha
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258
My Lover Hides a Bloodstained Knife 我的爱人，藏着把沾血的刀
My lover is hiding a bloodstained knife.
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A Lapdog’s Guide to Winning Over the Marquis’s Wife: My Lady, Hear Me Woof 侯门舔狗攻略：夫人请听我汪汪
[System + adorable pets + household power struggles + mystery + one-on-one romance between two equally strong leads] Xiao Yunjing has barely made it home when his wife asks for a divorce. And that’s not even the worst of it: he turns into a dog from the start, and the System wants him to be his wife’s lapdog! His wife, Liu Ruoyan, may act like a pushover, but she’s no fool. Why be afraid? She’s a master of both poison and medicine, and she knows how to deal with anyone who dares defy her. Puttin
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260
Nest of Thoughts 思窝
As fake data on the internet spiraled out of control, a phenomenon in which bad money drove out good spread like cancer across major online platforms, spilling from the virtual world into the real one. When things reach an extreme, they must turn around. As the pendulum of history changed direction, the GeoNet, blending the virtual and the real, came into being and opened a new chapter in the age… This book portrays the vision of the creators of Siwo for the future.
12Reads—Score—Shelves
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261
The Female Bank President's Last Resort 女行长的穷途末路
A teller's act of withholding checks toppled the first domino in the bank run at Yunhai City Commercial Bank. Though bank president Ma Yuquan fought desperately to contain the crisis, she ultimately could not counter the enormous fallout from the sudden disappearance of the bank's major shareholder and the head of its controlling rural bank. Ma Yuquan sensed the situation was full of hidden twists and turns, yet never revealed the secret of who she had been with during her brief disappearance, w
794Reads9.3Score105Shelves
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262
The Unconventional Path to Immortality 一本不正经的修仙感悟
[Fantasy] [Xianxia] [Xuanhuan] [Comedy] [Urban] After three lifetimes, I finally attained the Dao, Roaming the mortal world, laughing at its vicissitudes. I ferry souls across the River of the Underworld, following fate, But whoever the hell dares lay a hand on my people, I’ll beat you to death, you little bastard...
1.8kReads9.2Score167Shelves
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263
Journey to the West: A Sci-Fi Retelling 西游科幻版
[Sci-fi Journey to the West + sci-fi Classic of Mountains and Seas + sci-fi In Search of the Supernatural] Deep in the star sector of the Eastern Continent, the quantum-entangled state of an ancient stellar core suddenly collapsed. The energy it released tore through the core of the Flower-Fruit Mountain supercluster. In the lingering shockwaves of a higher-dimensional space-time disturbance, a silicon-based life-form took shape, its body made of flowing crystals and pulsing threads of energy. I
53Reads9.3Score—Shelves
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Monster Codes: Journey to the West 妖怪密码：西游记
How many demons are there in Journey to the West? The White Bone Spirit, Tiger Vanguard, the Red-Rumped Macaque, Red Boy... Only after enduring the Eighty-One Tribulations can one look upon the world's fortunes with a smile. What are their true forms? What becomes of them? Is there a connection between demons and natural phenomena? Here, I'll reveal the answers to all these questions, one by one.
145Reads9.3Score—Shelves
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The Three Kingdoms: History So Addictive, You Can’t Put It Down 一读就上瘾的三国史
The Three Kingdoms era was marked by endless warfare and rival warlords, and is now familiar to everyone thanks to Romance of the Three Kingdoms. But the novel isn't history, and some of the famous stories we all know never actually happened! Did Zhuge Liang really borrow arrows with straw boats? Why is Zhang He known as “the Three Kingdoms strength tester”? How did Fei Yi live a life worthy of the title “master of pacing”? Did Cao Zhi really love his sister-in-law? Why is Cao Cao's life said to
992Reads9.5Score100Shelves
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266
Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance: Zhou Chronicle, Modern Chinese Edition 资治通鉴·周纪（白话版）
Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government is a monumental chronological history of ancient China, compiled by Sima Guang during the Northern Song dynasty. It covers 1,362 years of history, from the Warring States period to the Five Dynasties. This book presents the “Zhou Annals” as a standalone work, translated in full into clear, modern language for contemporary readers. This edition covers all five volumes of the “Zhou Annals,” from the twenty-third year of King Weilie of Zhou (403 BCE) to the
13Reads8.6Score—Shelves
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The Song Dynasty, Told with a Twist 趣说大宋王朝
The emperor's art of statecraft in a single cup of wine, the fateful legend of the “fragrant boy's birth,” a prophetic monk who foretold that “the inspector would become emperor,” and the schemes and ambitions behind a yellow imperial robe... The founding of the Song dynasty was far more fascinating than the history books suggest! Discover Zhao Kuangyin's rise from street urchin to founding emperor: his “forced” ascension at Chenqiao Station, the mysterious prophecy at Xiangyang Temple, the lig
6.9kReads9.5Score315Shelves
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Tales of Treacherous Ministers: The Five Fiends and Six Bandits of the Northern Song 奸臣传之北宋五鬼六贼
[A roll call of treacherous ministers, with a touch of spicy humor and theatrical satire!] The Biography of Treacherous Ministers: The Five Ghosts and Six Bandits of the Northern Song is like a blacklist of history's ultimate “villain club”! No need to transmigrate to the Song dynasty. You can “watch remotely” as these self-serving, scheming power brokers stir up trouble. Wang Qinruo, Ding Wei, Chen Pengnian, Liu Chenggui, and Lin Te, along with Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Wang Fu, Liang Shicheng, Zhu
10Reads8.4Score—Shelves
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This Tang Dynasty Is a Little Chilly 这个唐朝有点冷
[Lesser-known Figures + History for Fun] Don't imagine the Tang dynasty as just officials and scholars leaning on railings along Chang'an's avenues to compose poetry, a noble consort gently waving a fan, and Emperor Taizong solemnly surveying the realm. This book opens the “refrigerator door” of history to show how the celebrated figures presented so seriously in official records may actually have been jokesters, master wisecrackers, and purveyors of astonishing twists. Come along, and you'll di
19Reads9.2Score—Shelves
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270
Is Unofficial History True or False? 野史是真还是假
Are the Tales of Unofficial History True or False?
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Mango the Orange Cat 橘猫芒果
Mango the Orange Cat
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The Legend of Yun Ge 郓哥传奇
The Legend of Yun Ge
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273
The White Python Demon 白蟒恶魔
The White Python Demon
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274
A Divine and Demonic Mash-Up 神魔大串烧
A Medley of Gods and Demons
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Planet of Wonders 奇遇星球
A twist of fate granted a retired soldier extraordinary abilities. Faced with a nation of tigers and wolves and a world overrun by demons, he fearlessly raised the banner of revolt, conquered the battlefield, unified the nations, and remade the world, finally fulfilling his long-held dream of establishing a global system of democracy and freedom. From then on, beautiful women from every country vied to declare their love for him, and his romantic fortunes knew no bounds... ...
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Sealing the Heavenly Dao 封天道
The young master of a powerful family has his spiritual roots stripped away, leaving him crippled. Forced to honor a marriage contract and become a live-in son-in-law, he finds that the bride’s family has switched the bride, making her deaf-mute twin sister take her place. On his wedding day, instead of sharing the wedding night, he is thrown into the Spirit Beast Valley, where he must eat and live among spirit beasts. The moment the deaf-mute sister finds him, she is like a ray of sunlight pier
267Reads—Score—Shelves
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Seeking the Dao in the Sea of Qi 气海问道
Qi Sea: The Way is a systematic treatise on Qi cultivation that transcends any single school or tradition. It does not rely on any particular religious or metaphysical system. Instead, drawing on the intersection of human life sciences, traditional energy philosophy, and modern mind-body practices, it builds a complete system of Qi cultivation that is logically rigorous, clearly structured, and amenable to practical verification. The book presents Qi as the common origin of the universe and all
38Reads—Score—Shelves
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278
A Cultivator in the Mortal World 红尘修士
One day, Yun Xi's soul left Blue Star, and she fell into the vast world of cultivation. She never expected to start out as a lowly nobody, with a life as fragile as a blade of grass. In the face of despair, she seeks out opportunities, rises from the dust, and gradually stirs up the entire cultivation world!
6.6kReads8.5Score702Shelves
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279
The Mortal Immortal Who Defies Fate 逆命凡仙1
Heaven has forsaken me, so I shall defy fate! Even an ordinary mortal can shake the path to immortality! In this vast world, where immortals and gods stand tall and countless races vie for supremacy, fate is determined by Heaven, and one’s spiritual roots dictate one’s destiny. Chen Xiao was born with the “Root of Annihilation.” Spiritual energy shuns him, and the Great Dao rejects him. He is a cultivation failure, worth less than an ant. His family looks down on him, the world scorns him, and
5Reads—Score—Shelves
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280
The Star Gate Divine Disk: The Hidden Laws of Heaven's Order 星门神盘，隐藏的天道运行法则
In the vast universe, might there be an invisible, intricate web governing the laws of Heaven? In the bustling mortal world, might there be an ultimate secret path of cultivation connecting Heaven and Earth with body and mind? The timeless masterpiece The Star Gate Divine Disc: The Hidden Laws Governing Heaven will reveal all these mysteries. This book is the first to put forward the grand central idea that “the universe is a divine disc, and the human body is a star gate.” It explains in depth
59Reads—Score—Shelves
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Online Game: Rebuilding My Life 网游之重塑人生
Qin Feng used to be a hopeless romantic. He gave his girlfriend his whole heart and treated her like a queen. And what did he get in return? She casually tossed out, "You can't give me the life I want," then turned around and walked away. Qin Feng was completely crushed. He holed up in his rented apartment every day, questioning his whole existence and wondering what the point of living was. Eventually, with nothing else to do and no other options, he plunged into an online game to kill time.
519Reads9.5Score343Shelves
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282
Ancient Cultivation Records: The Qi Refining Ways of China's Ancestors 上古修真录：华夏先民的炼气之道
Over the long course of Chinese civilization, the ancient Qi-cultivators of the pre-Qin era had already developed a complete path to self-cultivation and well-being. They observed the movements of heaven and earth, imitated the forms of birds and beasts, regulated their breathing in harmony with yin and yang, and guided the flow of qi and blood in pursuit of unity between body and spirit and a long life. These ancient practices not only laid the foundations for later Daoist health cultivation, m
58Reads—Score—Shelves
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283
The Supreme Profound Heaven-Burning Art 太玄焚天诀
The Supreme Profound Sky-Burning Art In a world newly formed from primordial chaos lies a fantasy continent where cultivating inner qi reigns supreme: the Sky-Burning Continent. The land is filled with powerful figures, and mysterious cultivation techniques emerge one after another. The most mysterious and powerful of them all is the legendary Supreme Profound Sky-Burning Art. Protagonist: Ling Tian was an ordinary young man from a small town on the outskirts of the Sky-Burning Continent. By a
93Reads—Score—Shelves
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Chronicle of All Laws Returning to the Void 万法归墟录3
This book gathers an extraordinary range of wondrous techniques from across the world. At one end are ancient immortal arts from primordial secret realms, revered as legends, whose every move seems to contain the immense power to create heaven and earth. At the other are unique secret arts passed down through generations by hidden martial sects, each carrying the blood, sweat, and wisdom of countless cultivators. It covers everything in detail: external cultivation methods renowned for their fie
85Reads—Score—Shelves
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285
The Mysteries of Chess: A Six-Dimensional Guide to Chess Strategy 弈道玄天：象棋心法六维通解
[The cosmos as the board, six dimensions as the game] The chessboard is a miniature cosmos, and the boundary between Chu and Han echoes the divisions of the celestial equator. This book innovatively combines six dimensions: military strategy, psychological manipulation, astronomical laws, philosophical inquiry, Qimen Dunjia, and feng shui energy, elevating Chinese chess into a model of cosmic contest. By analyzing the arrangement of the Twenty-Eight Mansions in Hu Ronghua’s endgame Seven Stars G
82Reads—Score—Shelves
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286
Reborn into a Life of Warmth 重生之水暖人生
Niu Erqun and Juhua are digging for gold when a massive boulder crushes him. He is rushed to the hospital, his fate unknown. Ergouzi seizes the gold mine, takes Juhua by force, beats his mother-in-law to death, and flees. By chance, Niu Erqun is reborn. He sets out to work hard, build a new countryside, and take revenge. The ending will leave you completely stunned…
7Reads—Score—Shelves
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287
The Fragrance of Medicine 药箱药香
Not long after his birth, Niu Niu dies in a devastating plague. His body decays and disappears, while another soul quietly transmigrates to the Han Dynasty. At that time, war rages across the land, people struggle to survive, corpses litter the fields, and a rampant plague claims the lives of Niu Niu’s parents. With their dying breaths, they tell him to seek out his great-uncle Zhang Zhongjing, the governor of Changsha and a practicing physician. Impressed by Niu Niu’s extraordinary talent and g
160Reads—Score—Shelves
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288
Crossing Blades with Wolves 与狼过招
Sparring with Wolves
9Reads—Score—Shelves
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289
The Meaning of the White Tiger 白虎通义
The Baihutong, also known as the White Tiger Discussions or the White Tiger Treatise on Virtue, is a collection of proceedings from an officially convened meeting on Confucian studies during the Eastern Han dynasty, as well as an imperially sanctioned work interpreting the Confucian classics. It holds an exceptionally important place in the history of Confucian thought and Han political thought. In 79 CE, the fourth year of Emperor Zhang of Han’s Jianchu era, the emperor personally convened a la
26Reads8.6Score—Shelves
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290
Three Hundred Years of the Tang Dynasty’s Rise and Fall: A Thousand Years in One Glance 大唐兴衰三百年：一眼千年读唐史
[Read in One Sitting + Three Hundred Years of the Tang Dynasty + Historical Context + History Made Accessible + Major Historical Figures] The three-hundred-year Tang dynasty was about far more than the Zhenguan and Kaiyuan eras or the poet Li Bai. This book lets you take in a thousand years of history at a glance. From Li Yuan’s desperate uprising in Taiyuan to Li Shimin’s unrivaled glory as the “Heavenly Khan”; from Wu Zetian’s unprecedented era as an empress to the height of prosperity under L
17Reads8.1Score—Shelves
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291
The Truth About Cultivation in the Global Psionic Age 全球灵能纪元之修行的真相
Notice of the Cross-Dimensional Observation Experiment · Source Sea Direct Administration Protocol No. 8.3/7.1 This document also serves as the synopsis and experimental terms for The Age of Global Psionics. The contents of this book originate from the Source Sea cross-dimensional observation experiment, “World Point Elasticity Test-7931.” Experiment objective: To observe the stress resilience of social structures, the stability of political regimes, and the paths of individual consciousness evo
23Reads—Score—Shelves
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292
She Shines as Brightly as the Night 她与暗夜相皎洁
My name is Cheng Yifan, the Cheng family's most “well-behaved” granddaughter. In front of the livestream camera, I'm Fanguang, a top-tier star with tens of millions of fans. Behind it, I kneel and serve tea to Grandma. My uncle covets the money I earn from tips, while my cousin secretly reports my account. My mother pleads with me through tears: “Sweetheart, you need to fight for the family fortune sooner rather than later...” I smile and slide the marriage alliance agreement over to my cousin.
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293
Transmigrating to the Southern Song to Become the Iron Sword Hero 穿越南宋成为铁剑大侠
I transmigrated to the Southern Song dynasty and became Yang Yunxiao, a descendant of Yang Zaixing! As the nation falls and families are torn apart, Wen Tianxiang raises an army against the Yuan, Jia Sidao wreaks havoc at court, and the Xuanming Sect stirs in the shadows. I endure humiliation at Wudang for over a decade, while Daoist Chongxu secretly teaches me martial arts. With the Xuanyuan Sword, I face the Xuanming Sword, righteousness overcoming evil; with the Primordial Chaos True Art, I c
5Reads—Score—Shelves
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294
The Ethnic Alchemist 民族炼金术士
When international gold prices surged by more than 70% in 2025, surpassing U.S. Treasury bonds for the first time in 30 years to become the world's leading reserve asset held by central banks, the real-world rush to “hoard gold in troubled times” echoed the battle over gold in this novel. Amid geopolitical upheaval and the restructuring of the monetary system, gold's value as a safe haven is once again in demand. Yet The Nation's Alchemist had already revealed the truth in its story: what people
39Reads—Score—Shelves
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295
I Transmigrated and Became the Beloved Bride of a Crippled Marquis 一朝穿越，替嫁残侯成团宠
[Historical transmigration + medical skills + marriage before love + two strong leads who dote on each other + suspense and court intrigue] Shen Qingci, a top surgeon, transmigrates into the body of a bride forced into a marriage swap. She becomes the new bride meant to bring good fortune to Xiao Yan, the blind and crippled Marquis of Dingbei. On their wedding night, she takes his pulse and immediately sees through it: “My lord, you’ve been poisoned. Someone wants to keep you in darkness forever
135Reads—Score—Shelves
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296
Coexisting with a Big Shot, I Became Unstoppable 与大佬共生，我强到飞起
One day, I woke up with a man in my head. It wasn't a hallucination or a split personality. He was the real deal, a top-tier boss: Lu Yunzhou. The ruthless business tycoon who ruled the corporate world was now nothing more than a ghost trapped in my mind. And so, things started looking like this: When someone gives me a hard time, he scoffs in my head: [Third file from the bottom left. Throw it in his face.] When someone frames me, he directs me remotely: [The recorder's in the right-hand drawe
86Reads—Score—Shelves
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297
Quick Transmigration: The Second Personality 快穿第二人格
Female lead + dual personality + no saintly martyrdom + takes down scumbags regardless of gender or age + lighthearted and funny Synopsis: Jiang Yan, a female cultivator, was bored when she happened upon a System. She transmigrates through three thousand worlds, disguising herself as the original host's second personality to help them change their personalities and escape their tragic fates. She takes down scumbags, delivers face-slapping comeuppances, completes missions, and explores the myster
26Reads—Score—Shelves