Novels like The Women I Loved Back Then
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as The Women I Loved Back Then, best match first.
- 1 The South-Facing Window 朝南的窗 He saved half a year’s worth of food money to buy a hard-seat train ticket for a three-day, three-night journey, setting off to keep a date that might never have a happy ending. One was a socially anxious young man who practiced his greeting over and over beneath the starry sky of the Gobi Desert. The other was a girl who used her composure to shut out the world in the humid south. Four thousand one hundred kilometers: the longest diagonal on a map, and the full distance between two people who d —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 2 My 27-Year-Old Landlady 我的27岁女租客 Jiang Xun, a documentary filmmaker, lost everything overnight: His girlfriend married someone else, his brother ran off, his grandfather passed away, and he was left with a debt of over a million yuan. His only remaining asset was an old Western-style house in Hangzhou inherited from his grandfather, but it came with a tenant who refused to leave. Chu Ran was 27, proud, stubborn, and exceptionally skilled at her work. She was a rich heiress, but refused to take over the family business, choosin —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 3 Through the Roaring Crowd 穿过人声鼎沸 After breaking up with the girlfriend he’d been entangled with for six years, he went on to let down the woman who loved him deeply. Then, in one drunken, reckless moment, he mistakenly took her for his ex? After deciding to leave her world, he unexpectedly meets a direct female superior who gets under his skin like no one ever has before... This is the story of a scumbag’s romantic entanglements... and a journey of growth as he learns to face his own heart. 2Reads—Score—Shelves
- 4 I Want So Badly to Love This World 好想爱这个世界 (The style of The Tenants + urban tragic romance + realism + multiple female love interests + ensemble cast + bad ending + open ending) Life and death to the left, parting to the right. Gu Bei met several girls in his life. One clutched a marble for eight years, then crouched by a barbecue stall and grinned at him. “I was afraid you’d be lonely.” One left him a book before the train pulled away and said, “If one day you don’t want to wait anymore, you can come find me.” One stayed by his sid 34Reads—Score—Shelves
- 5 The Promise Between Me and the Goddess 我和女神有个约定 Also known as: "My Number 14 Pet Shop" A stubborn woman barged into my life. She could have stayed a goddess, but instead she insisted on living under the same roof as me... I love listening to G.E.M.’s song “Bubble.” Whenever it comes on, I listen closely to every word she sings. Bubbles in the sunlight are colorful, just like how I was happy even as I was being deceived. Why dwell on right and wrong in your lies, when you still love me? Beautiful bubbles, though they flare up for only an insta 1.2kReads8.3Score108Shelves
- 6 You Asked for a Love Story, but I Wrote the Female Tenant 让你写爱情，你写女房客 [A note from the author: I’m a fan of My 26-Year-Old Female Roommate. I’ll introduce you to a different Zhaoyang and a different story in a new way.] Zhaoyang wakes up to find he has transmigrated to a parallel world and is competing in a novel-writing contest. The theme this time is love. Zhaoyang decides to write his own love story all over again: Jian Wei, entangled with him for half a lifetime before they finally part as strangers; Mi Cai, whose dance binds two hearts for life; Le Yao, you a 64Reads—Score—Shelves
- 7 I Was Putty in the Hands of a Stunning, Seven-Years-Older Tour Guide in Black Stockings 我被大七岁极品黑丝女导游拿捏了 (I ended this book early because it wasn't very popular, and I felt the writing wasn't very good and was too idealistic and unrealistic. I'm getting ready to write a new book. Please consider supporting it, thank you!) After Lu Yuan developed tuberculous pleurisy, the school worried it might be contagious and didn't let him take part in the senior-year internship it had arranged. He stayed at home for over half a year, barely going out at all. Finally, encouraged by his family, Lu Yuan decided t 5Reads—Score—Shelves
- 8 Chongqing, the Youth I Left Behind 重庆，我留下的青春 Five years of love shattered like porcelain, and my career plummeted along with it. Just when my life was at its darkest, a ray of light shone in, dazzling beyond belief. In this harsh, realistic world, can I still stay true to myself?… 1.7kReads8.7Score125Shelves
- 9 Searching for You in Miancheng 我在木棉城中寻你 That day, the sudden breakup of the girl he secretly loved gave the down-and-out young man new hope. But after waking from a dream, the first novel he had ever written quietly changed the course of his life. Beneath the kapok trees of Guangzhou, a story of youth and love is unfolding. 6.6kReads8.4Score780Shelves
- 10 Spring Blossoms, Autumn Fades 春花秋逝 (Not a wish-fulfillment story, no transmigration, realistic, about an ordinary person struggling to survive in the cracks. Don’t read if that’s not your thing.) Since you all want to kill me, I’ll start by eloping with your daughters!! 588Reads8.3Score—Shelves
- 11 Love Affairs in the Big City 大城情事 After my girlfriend and my best friend gave me a spectacular set of horns, I gritted my teeth and left my small town to make it in the big city. But as soon as I arrived at my new company, my coworkers started ostracizing me and setting me up... The big city is no paradise! It's a world of its own, full of all kinds of people and endless deception! As a nobody, I had to start out as a lowly network administrator, stumbling along until I finally built a small business of my own! But she was an ex 1.5kReads8.3Score134Shelves
- 12 Marriage Partners 婚姻合伙人 I have a very beautiful wife. In the eyes of everyone around us, she’s the perfect wife, a dutiful daughter-in-law, and my ideal match. Her career is even going better than mine. By all conventional wisdom, anyone would be more than content with a wife like her, but I can’t stop thinking about divorcing her… 3kReads8.7Score244Shelves
- 13 From Bar Singer to Godfather of Music! 从酒吧驻唱，我成了音乐教父！ [Heartbreaking + Comeback + Super Sweet + Entertainment Industry + Rich Beauty + Face-Slapping] A beautiful CEO who returned from overseas and a famous singer fall for me, a bar singer in Lanzhou? I write a legend with my music, creating music with “roots,” and eventually become the ultimate godfather of the music scene. See how I make my comeback, all in "From Bar Singer to Godfather of Music!" 46Reads—Score—Shelves
- 14 My Days Living with the Nightclub Goddess 我和夜店女神同居的日子 [Not reborn]+ [Not a wish-fulfillment story]+ [No System]+ [Urban romance]+ [Multiple heroines] I just graduated this year. Before graduation, my girlfriend dumped me, so I went to a bar to drown my sorrows. But when a friend acted on impulse, I got dragged into a dispute, setting off a chain of events. How is a fresh-faced college graduate like me supposed to handle all this? I met a beautiful girl at the bar. What might happen between us? The first problem after graduation is finding a place t 26Reads—Score—Shelves
- 15 My Beijing Girl 我的北京姑娘 If you love someone, take them to Beijing. It is the heart of the country, where they can see all the splendor the world has to offer... If you hate someone, leave them in Beijing. That city is cold enough for them to hide every burden in their heart… I reveled in the city's splendor at night, never understanding why anyone would stay in Beijing. After seven years, my relationship fell apart, and only then did I begin to see that I had nothing. Her arrival saved me. She was the kindest girl 534Reads7.7Score101Shelves
- 16 My Beijing Girl 我的北京女孩 A young man with nothing going for him can't move on after a breakup. When he accompanies a friend to Beijing, he encounters new things and new people... His life quietly changes course. What kind of love story will he find as he sets out to reclaim his dream? 135Reads—Score—Shelves
- 17 My 26-Year-Old Landlady: Dancing Again, Mochou 我的26岁女房客之再舞莫愁 My name is Mi Cai, and this is my story. In the first half of my life, I stood atop the high tower my father had built, wearing the dazzling yet heavy crown he left me as he lay dying. In the storms of life, that crown eventually lost its shine, swept away by one unseen chill wind after another. I could not forgive myself, and that turned into an almost pathological obsession in my heart. In the years that followed, I entered a broken city filled with stories. Many people had once stopped her 318Reads8.4Score—Shelves
- 18 Wudu, You Embraced My Youth 雾都，你拥抱过我的青春 After ten years of drifting through life, a young man with nothing to his name reunites with his first love and resolves to work hard and turn his life around. But with empty pockets, he can barely scrape by, until the day he meets her… 3.9kReads8.4Score411Shelves
- 19 A Fragrant Journey Through Medicine 医路芬芳 The women of Apricot Blossom Village, tucked away in the mountains, are beautiful, but strange things happen there too. After his father dies in a car accident, Qin Chunshan returns from the army, only to learn that his childhood sweetheart, the girl from Apricot Blossom Village, is about to be married. Her father insists on following an ancient custom, and Qin Chunshan is determined to put an end to this backward tradition. Can he do it? He is no ordinary man. His medicine can bring the dead ba 76Reads7.2Score—Shelves
- 20 My Life Before Thirty 我的30岁以前 My beloved ex-girlfriend got married and had a child, and I didn’t have the courage to slash her tires and crash the wedding. Then, by chance, I rescued two beautiful women, and the tangled threads of fate began to unfold. I refuse to spend my whole life as an ordinary man. I want to take the best grandmother in the world traveling. I want to protect the little sister I care about most. I want to marry the woman who loves me most... I want so much, but I’m just an ordinary person. My name is Jia 1.4kReads8.5Score117Shelves
- 21 The Women Who Walked Beside Me Through the Years 那些陪我走过红尘岁月的女人 This book is also known as My Twenty-Six-Year-Old Boss. How does a country boy rise up from the very bottom as a wage laborer? Step by step, he makes his way through Guangdong, battles it out in Shanghai, and heads to northern Myanmar. The road is perilous, the struggles fierce, but beauty blooms along the way. With charming women by his side, he ultimately reaches the pinnacle of life! That day, in that year, as my young self boarded the train south with the girl I loved, I knew that an unknown 952Reads8.7Score120Shelves
- 22 My Five Loves 我的五种爱情 A story about a tenant, one female lead, a tragic romance, and regrets. Ever since Mu Cheng took in a down-on-her-luck heiress, his life, once as still as dead water, began to burn with passion. A mature beauty, a domineering female CEO, a sweet little bunny, and a crazy girl all make their entrances one after another. In short, how could life get any more exhilarating? 950Reads7.2Score—Shelves
- 23 Life as a Neighbor to a Flight Attendant 和空姐做邻居的日子 (A realistic story with sweetness and heartbreak, vivid descriptions, explicit writing, and multiple heroines.) Five years after Chen Linfeng broke up with his first love, they meet again. She is now a cold, aloof female CEO. After five years as a low-ranking clerk, he is finally on the verge of promotion, but someone sets him up using a fake flight attendant, nearly ruining his career. After getting out, he soon meets a real flight attendant, a beautiful, aloof, wealthy woman who has just moved 443Reads8.4Score—Shelves
- 24 Borrowed Dignity, Then She Lost It 借来的体面，然后她弄丢了 Borrowed respectability, then she lost it 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 25 Waiting for the Wind in Guangzhou 羊城等风来 (This is not a cuckold story.) (This is not a wish-fulfillment story.) My childhood sweetheart, whom I’d been married to for a year, divorced me and made me take the blame for the breakup! I let you fly free, and I’ll bear the pain! Then a mysterious young girl barged into my life. From that moment on, the wheels of fate began to turn, and I gradually fell into one trap and conspiracy after another. Can ordinary people really never defeat the authorities? 83Reads5.0Score—Shelves
- 26 Tibet: I Fell in Love with the Wind of Namcha Barwa 西藏：我爱上了南迦巴瓦的风 [Roommate-style story] + [Childhood Friends] + [Heiress] + [Beautiful Ex-Girlfriend] + [Love Rival Showdown] Male-oriented, male-oriented, male-oriented "Wang Dong, clear out your desk and go take care of your resignation paperwork." After working for five years, Wang Dong was fired by his unscrupulous boss. He had been praised by everyone to the highest heights, only to be hurled down hard. That night, he came across a video of Tibet. "Screw this company, I'm going to Tibet!" In Tibet, his chil 2.1kReads—Score234Shelves
- 27 My 26th Boyfriend 我的第26个男朋友 [No CP + Female-Oriented Power Fantasy + Harem Rivalry + Everyone's Favorite] In this bustling city, I'm an independent, take-charge heroine. I won't let romance tie me down; I only pursue my own happiness and satisfaction. My life is full of temptation and wild indulgence, enough to make anyone's heart race, but I always stay clearheaded and rational. I know that's the only way to survive in this challenging world. —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 28 A Disillusioned Young Man's Ultimate Fantasy 失意青年的终极幻想 [A contemporary urban novel. If it’s not your thing, don’t read it.] After eight years together, he’s cruelly dumped. Will meeting the daughter of a wealthy family turn this down-on-his-luck young man’s fortune around? A mysterious woman suddenly shows up and fights me for the house. I have no choice but to hand over the deed, but she’s gorgeous! Can I move in with her? The beauty finally loses patience and says two words: “Enough!” A top-tier angst novel featuring one male lead and multiple fem 25Reads—Score—Shelves
- 29 May the Sun Always Shine Bright 希望阳光永远都炽热 A castoff banished by his corporation to the Western District has a one-night stand, only to be relentlessly pursued by a beauty. Then, through a bizarre twist of fate, he even ends up at the police station. Ever since he got involved with this woman, not a single day has gone smoothly! "I'll pay you. Can you just leave?" "No!" Is it really so hard for me to be a true believer in pure love? 223Reads—Score—Shelves
- 30 My 26-Year-Old Female Roommate: A Butterfly Flaps Its Wings 我的26岁女房客：蝴蝶振翅 In the original story, Le Yao is the character who leaves readers with the deepest regret, because Zhao Yang never truly saw her. She was pregnant with his child, but had no way to prove it, and so lost her only chance to be seen. The original Zhao Yang wasn't really a scumbag, either. He simply hadn't found his sense of responsibility. Later, Mi Cai gave him the motivation to change, but that motivation came from outside, because he was always chasing after her. To Zhao Yang, Mi Cai was like th 567Reads—Score132Shelves
- 31 Village Belle, Why Won’t You Get Married? 村花姐姐，为何不嫁 This book is also known as Shenzhen, Remember My Youth and My Love “Village belle, why won’t you marry me?” “Of course I want to marry you. I just can’t!” “Why?” “I don’t want to ruin your life! I just want you to be all right!” “Then why do you have a daughter? Is she mine?” 36Reads6.5Score—Shelves
- 32 My Utopian Girl 我的乌托邦女孩 Original title: My Utopian Girl [Workplace business rivalry + tearjerker + close to everyday life + everyday comedy] A love story between a penniless male protagonist and a stunning female CEO. What is love? It's the answer we've always been searching for. From fearing that his poverty would keep him from reaching her heart to transforming himself and holding her tight, what exactly did Xinyi go through... 167Reads6.7Score—Shelves
- 33 I Took Over a Female Tenant’s Body, and Le Dawan Is My Wife 魂穿女房客，乐大腕是我老婆 [No Harem] + [No System] + [Urban Romance] + [My 26-Year-Old Female Tenant] + [Business] “To the world, you’re a nuisance. To me, you are the whole world, Le Yao.” I’m one of the many fans of My 26-Year-Old Female Tenant. I reread it and finished it over the past few days. The original was so wonderfully written, and so heartbreaking. For a while, I couldn’t move on. I felt like I had to write something to put my world back in order. They had once floated together on a sea without starlight, lik 2.9kReads8.1Score239Shelves
- 34 Sleepless Tonight 今晚无眠 I woke up to find myself married, with a beautiful wife and two daughters. But then my wife made me this request... 92Reads8.2Score—Shelves
- 35 My 26-Year-Old Landlady from Singapore 我的26岁新加坡女房东 (Working and starting a business overseas, period setting, romance, schemes, realism, drama, business warfare) The protagonist works in Lion City. The good news is that his landlady is a beautiful Chinese-British woman, but one piece of bad news follows another... In the middle of the night, he overhears strange noises coming from his landlady's room next door... While fleeing, he is rescued by a nurse who shares his rental... In a foreign country, everything is unknown... Also known as Kicked O 5Reads—Score—Shelves
- 36 After the Breakup, the Three of Us Decided to Be Together 分手后，我们三个决定在一起 On the night I broke up with my girlfriend, I found a down-and-out female artist. Then my luck changed. The book I wrote became a huge hit, bringing me fame and fortune. My practical-minded ex came back asking to get back together, while my soulmate also developed feelings for me. Everyone waited to see who I would choose, but I made a decision that shocked them all: I wouldn’t choose anyone. Later, my first love and the woman who had always haunted my heart stood before me hand in hand. “The th 9Reads—Score—Shelves
- 37 Wine and Beauty Are Irresistible 酒色撩人 Urban Life + Romance + Flirtation + Ex-Girlfriend Regrets It + One Female Lead (Not a wish-fulfillment story. No formulaic tropes, plot-focused, and slow-paced. Read with caution if that’s not your thing!) Money gives a man courage, and only a man with courage dares to chase women. A poor young man has a one-night stand and unexpectedly becomes a father. He then falls in love with a rich heiress. And so begins a hilarious, heartwarming tale! 380Reads8.6Score—Shelves
- 38 After the Divorce, They Help Me Reach for the Sky 离婚后，她们扶我青云志 [Urban Slice of Life + Working-Class Life + Love and Family + Hands-On Dad + Underdog’s Rise] Love is like a game of chess: once you make a move, there’s no turning back. Life is unpredictable, and partings and reunions are left to fate. Cherish true love, for once you part, you may never meet again! When the glamour fades, who will still hold your hand? Amid the endless stream of passersby, who will remain unforgettable? I was just one of countless migrant workers in Shenzhen. After years of wo 8.6kReads8.7Score674Shelves
- 39 My 26-Year-Old Female Tenant: A Meteor Passing Through 我的26岁女房客之流星过客 This is a story you know, or perhaps one you've never heard before. A meteor falls; the tide ebbs and flows. Zhaoyang, if the story ended here, would you still remember Jian Wei at nineteen? 2.2kReads8.4Score—Shelves
- 40 If I Could Do It Again, I'd Only Love Le Yao 如果再来一次，我只爱乐瑶 A My 26-Year-Old Female Tenant Fanfic Jian Wei’s Diary Le Yao’s Confession Li Xiaoyun’s Plea for Him to Stay What if the ending began again... If I had shown Le Yao a little more favoritism, would that lonely island in the sea have merged with the crystalline city? —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 41 My 26-Year-Old Rich Woman 我的26岁富婆 “Everyday realism” + “A small-town underdog’s rise” + “A wealthy woman’s tangled past” This story follows Qi Lan, a down-on-his-luck young man from a small town, and the strange experiences he shares with Chen Cheng, a wealthy 26-year-old woman. My name is Qi Lan. I never imagined that I’d get rich overnight. A cold, wealthy woman has somehow moved into my house. What am I supposed to do? What’s more, I’m a pure-hearted virgin. Surely I can’t be expected to offer myself to her? As an upstanding 1.4kReads8.9Score133Shelves
- 42 Fading Lights Upon the Sea 海上灯火阑珊 This is a story about music, dreams, and love. Yang Cheng, a musician who left his hometown of Shanghai for Beijing, staking everything on his dream, was crushed by powerful industry interests, betrayed by his lover, and had his work stolen. His heart completely broken, he slunk back home. After withdrawing from the noise and ruins of the music scene, he couldn't bring himself to return to his family and lived alone in a rented place, sinking into despair. In the apartment he shared with others, 26Reads—Score—Shelves
- 43 My Nanjing Years 我的南京往事 [Older Woman]+ [Rich Heiress]+ [Returnee CEO] What is love? Perhaps it is a past one cannot revisit, or perhaps it is the confusion of struggling and wavering only to end up with nothing. It is not here, and nowhere can it be found. 456Reads6.1Score—Shelves
- 44 My Girl from Zhaoqing 我的肇庆姑娘 [Childhood Sweethearts]+ [Older Sister]+ [Girlfriend Appears Out of Nowhere] Most people think Shanghai is an oppressive city because they walk along the Bund or down Nanjing West Road, crowded with foreigners, and see all the glittering bustle around them, yet feel they have no part in it. This is the story of a drifting man who escapes Shanghai and eventually finds his happy ending. 525Reads—Score—Shelves
- 45 A Book That Continues the Spring and Autumn Annals 续写春秋的一本书 A new work is out! You can read my stories on Tomato Novel. I hope you’ll enjoy them. Your support motivates me to write, and I’ll do my best to tell every story well! 10.7kReads9.2Score902Shelves
- 46 A Sleepless Night in Hangzhou 杭州夜未眠 After ten years of dating, seven years of marriage, and three years of failed IVF treatment, my wife, Lin Yue, took me to file for divorce on my thirtieth birthday. That day, I felt as though the whole world had abandoned me. But when I began to understand my ex-wife, Lin Yue, better, I realized things weren’t so simple. 1.7kReads8.9Score107Shelves
- 47 Lives Left Behind in Nanjing 那些离开南京的生活 Truthfully, I never thought of leaving this city. Those moments of unspeakable loneliness, the people who left, the girl with the high ponytail, all the memories have kept me trapped here. Perhaps I should live a different way. Hello, Nanjing. Goodbye, Nanjing. 1.3kReads8.4Score100Shelves
- 48 I Never Meant to Become a Landlord 我真没想当房东 [Slow Burn + No Idiocy + No System + Realistic] Five years of waiting ended with the other person saying, “Let's break up.” Then a girl suddenly showed up at my house, asking to rent a room. And she was beautiful, too. I hadn't wanted to say yes, but the girl was so pushy. 765Reads6.2Score105Shelves
- 49 Jiangzuo Has a Utopia 江左有个乌托邦 [Roommate-style romance] + [Heartwarming] + [Everyday urban life] + [Later twists] A young man returns home after military service, only to find a pampered young lady with a powerful background by the side of the road? His ex-girlfriend, who went overseas, returns at just this moment? Will he have to say goodbye to the exotic beauty he met by chance on the western Sichuan plateau? From the mountain city to western Sichuan, what words could possibly describe all the upheavals along the way? “I’m 875Reads7.2Score112Shelves
- 50 The Rules of Love for Urban Men and Women 都市男女的恋爱法则 Gu Ziyi: An ENFP woman, sweet and innocent-looking on the outside, but sharp-tongued and fiery by nature. When she falls in love, she never thinks about the consequences and always ends up being taken advantage of. Though every relationship has ended in failure, she remains a romantic who believes in love. Will the man she meets this time turn out to be a good one…? Gao Yingzhen: A typical ISFJ man who finds it hard to open up, but once he lets someone into his heart, he holds nothing back. Bor 3Reads—Score—Shelves
