Novels like Tears of the Departed
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Tears of the Departed, best match first.
- 1 My Longing Endures, Though Beauty Fades 相思未尽朱颜改 Gu Qingyan, if there is another life, let’s not meet again. Loving you hurts too much. I can’t bear it. But after she disappeared, why did he search for her like a madman? 12Reads5.4Score—14d adds
- 2 A Concubine's Love Is Hard to Win Back 小妾难再爱 Liu Yan’er’s greatest dream was to spend her whole life with Shangguan Ling, the two of them belonging only to each other. But after he passed the imperial examinations and earned a position, everything changed. Not only did he take a new wife, he demoted Liu Yan’er to concubine. In the Shangguan household, she suffered constant torment and grew physically and emotionally exhausted. Her youthful dream had shattered. When she tried to leave, dragging her ailing body along, he said… 82Reads—Score—14d adds
- 3 The Blossoms Have Yet to Fall, but the Songs Have Ended 繁花未落笙歌尽 “Did you ever truly love me?” she asked. “Never...” he replied. She smiled. So the love she had longed for had all been a beautiful dream, and all it brought her was utter ruin... 26Reads5.4Score—14d adds
- 4 I Once Crossed Mountains and Rivers with the Years 曾以岁月渡山河 She gave her whole heart and was rewarded with wounds all over. Seven years later, her passion had finally turned to ashes. Just as Xiao Yan thought she was about to fall off a cliff, Murong Yu reached out and pulled her back, only to personally shove her into another abyss! Now all that remained was for everything to turn to dust. Once, she had only herself. From now on, the whole world would be filled with familiar faces. 15Reads5.2Score—14d adds
- 5 Thank You for Giving Me a Heart of Sorrow 谢你赠我一心伤 The most ridiculous thing in An Lingxi’s life was probably that she loved Xuanyuan Mo more than life itself, while Xuanyuan Mo thought of nothing but taking her life… 61Reads5.4Score—14d adds
- 6 A Collection of Short, Angsty Stories 短虐合集 “Between the two of us, my life is the least important thing. If you want to take it, then it’s yours.” A collection of short, tragic period romance and fanfiction with a beautiful bad ending. Each story is a few chapters long, featuring passionate but painful love, a strong female lead and a weaker male lead, lovers who fight as fiercely as they love, a man desperately trying to win back his wife, and tragic endings. 52Reads—Score—14d adds
- 7 Captive Phoenix in His Arms: The Ruthless Emperor's Prisoner 俘凰入罗帷，狠戾帝君掌心囚 When the Cangxuan Kingdom fell, its legitimate eldest princess, once revered and surrounded by every luxury, was cast from her heavenly heights into the deepest hell. Chu Yan had once been held hostage in Cangxuan. When he was being humiliated, the kingdom’s eldest princess, Fan Hua, came to his rescue. They grew up together and fell in love, but a conspiracy made Chu Yan hate the entire Cangxuan royal family. After years of plotting, he destroyed her kingdom, trampled on her dignity, and forced 285Reads6.3Score—14d adds
- 8 A Love So Deep, a Longing Unforgotten 情深不解相思意 In his eyes, she was the most despicable of princess consorts. He carved out her heart and drove nails into her bones. But when she really died, his heart had nowhere left to call home... 24Reads5.5Score—14d adds
- 9 Fallen Blossoms Still Drift Toward the Jade Steps 乱红犹向玉阶飞 Xiao Seru said to Wen Jinchub: “A Chu, I know you still think of Miss Lu. I'm envious, but I'm not jealous. I don't expect you to truly let her go. I only hope you'll let me stay by your side... I may not be as talented or beautiful as Miss Lu, but my love for you is just as true!” Xiao Seru also said, “A Chu, I'm so happy I can be your wife. A Chu, I like you. I really, truly like you!” But later, Xiao Seru said to Wen Jinchub: “Wen Jinchub, she pushed me!” “Is Lu Liulian's child the only one w 120Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 10 All My Longing Turned to Ash 相思尽成灰 He destroyed her kingdom and castrated her husband. Her heart turned to ash... 32Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 11 A Bridal Procession Ten Miles Long, Yet Time Turns My Hair Gray 十里红妆催华发 She may have a face just like hers, but she was the one he loved, and I was the one who died for him... 49Reads5.6Score—14d adds
- 12 Reunited in the Heart of the Lake 重逢，在湖光深处 One shake brought two people thousands of miles apart together, but their growing connection was burdened by too many things beyond their control. What is meant to be will come to pass; what isn’t, cannot be forced. It’s just a shame… 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 13 A Love Beyond All Heartbreak 绝殇之恋 She loved him, and he hated her. Love and hate twisted together, impossible to tell apart. At last, she leapt from the palace wall in despair. The blood covering the ground stained his eyes red, and only then did he understand that all his love and hatred had always belonged to her alone. 190Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 14 Longing Makes You Grow Old 相思令人老 She was his wife, the Regent Princess Consort. She had once helped him win the realm. He forced her to kneel before his lover. He forced her to give up her child. He said he would sell her into a brothel. Her heart turned to ashes, and she set herself ablaze. Only then did he realize that all along, he was the one who couldn’t let go. 41Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 15 Your Grace Endures, Like Snow in All Its Splendor 风华如雪，君如故 Risking her life to give birth, he resolutely snatched the baby from her arms, saying she was unworthy. Imprisoned and unable to earn his forgiveness no matter how she pleaded, she heard him say she was guilty. Unworthy because she loved him humbly, guilty because she loved him obsessively. She said, “Chu Nanyi, this time, shall I sentence myself to death?” The game is over. Will you come back or not? 45Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 16 A Cool Breeze Rises 萧萧凉风生 I love the wind! The wind is free, boundless, and unfettered. It can turn the leaves, lift a skirt, and travel the world. But I’m trapped in my own endless darkness, locked inside a prison of my own making. 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 17 The Beauty at My Lodgings 落榻美人 I’m a maid in the Marquis’s household. After the eldest young master attended his fiancée’s coming-of-age ceremony, he fell from his horse on the way home and was left paralyzed. His fiancée broke off their engagement, and his former classmates stopped visiting. The young master lost the will to live. The old madam chose me to bring him good luck through marriage. My fellow maids pitied me, not knowing that I had loved him for a long time. This is a short story. 201Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 18 I Love You, Yet You Don't Know 心悦君兮君不知 While she loved him, he thought she was two-faced, treacherous, and fickle. Only after she “died” did he realize that he loved her, and loved her beyond reason... So tormenting your wife may feel good in the moment, but winning her back is a crematorium! 23Reads5.6Score—14d adds
- 19 When the Splendor Faded, Half the City Was Left in Ruins 繁华落尽半城殇 He told her, “Jinxiu, I will marry no one but you in this life. When I return from Jiangnan, I’ll give you a magnificent wedding.” But all that happiness was destroyed by a cruel conspiracy. On the day of his wedding, her blood was drained from her body, and she barely survived. With the splendor gone and half the city in mourning, she still died in his arms. Ling Su, may the rest of your life be peaceful. Let’s meet again in our next life... 120Reads5.5Score—14d adds
- 20 A Lifetime of Regrets, A Heart Still Unable to Let Go 负尽流年意难平 In a world of ice and snow, a bridal procession stretches for miles. The ruler of Dongli marries a new queen, and the whole nation celebrates. But the new queen is nothing more than a substitute. Everyone knows that Xiao Zhan, to honor the late Princess Li, has gathered women from across the land who resemble her and keeps them in the inner palace. I am the only exception. Is it coincidence, or conspiracy? As the truths deliberately buried begin to surface, layer by layer, and the feuds between 23Reads6.1Score—14d adds
- 21 The Road Ahead Is One of Heartbreak 此去离殇 “You never deserved to be my wife.” Once, she had loved him with all her heart, only to be met with his cold rejection. Time passed, and she died before his eyes. All the love she had never gotten to confess became a sharp sword plunging into his heart… 238Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 22 I Give You My Life, Never Betraying Our Love 倾我一世，不负相思 She loved him with all her heart and insisted on marrying him. Who could have known that he wanted her dead? To save the woman he loved, he needed the child in her womb as medicine. In the end, he put her in a coffin and suffocated her alive. Only then did she realize she had loved the wrong man. If she gets another life, she will never meet him or fall in love with him again! 72Reads5.5Score—14d adds
- 23 My Heart Remains as It Was 妾心如故 He hated her. In a single night, he slaughtered her entire family. He hated her, and wanted nothing more than to torture her to death, drawing blood from her heart every day for the woman he cherished. But when he used the same hands stained with her family’s blood to kill her child, she laughed bitterly, and her black hair turned white overnight. This time, she was the one who hated him, but he was the one who regretted it. “Ling Yumo, this hatred has seeped into my blood and carved itself into 59Reads5.7Score—14d adds
- 24 The Emperor Is Heartless, So What Can the Heart Do? 帝王无情，心又奈何 After ten years of devoted love, what he gave her was not an empress’s coronation, but the execution of her entire family. The whole residence was drenched in blood. Standing in a pool of blood, she held a sword to his chest and demanded, “Did you ever love me, even a little?” He drove the sword into her heart inch by inch, his expression cold and ruthless. “What do you think?!” He didn’t know that for him, she would have smiled as she drank poison and willingly shattered herself to pieces. Than 132Reads5.5Score—14d adds
- 25 An Undying Love 痴爱不渝 Ning Wu loves Yan Xiao with all her heart, but Yan Xiao hates her to the core. For the sake of a promise Yan Xiao made as a boy, Ning Wu stakes everything on winning his love, only to lose in the end. In the final moments of her life, she watches Yan Xiao marry someone else before turning and walking away. What she doesn’t know is that after she leaves, Yan Xiao searches for her like a madman... 193Reads5.5Score—14d adds
- 26 He Came Along, and It Was Like Being Intoxicated by the World 他来恰似人间中毒 Shiyi loved with humility, fearlessness, and despair. In the end, she lost her body and her life. In this heart-wrenching love affair, blades flashed without end, and no one could win. The ending was tragic because she realized the truth too late, while Lou Qianhua had understood it all too clearly from the very beginning. 116Reads8.5Score—14d adds
- 27 May You Know Peace for All Your Days 愿汝长安 [Male-male romance] [Emperor shou] [Both leads are each other’s first and only] Jiang Hongyu never expected to accomplish anything during his reign. Just staying alive would be enough; even being a puppet emperor would be fine. But things rarely go as planned. Kidnapping, the death of a friend, and the turmoil of war leave him struggling to breathe. But He Chang’an is like a ray of light, keeping him going. As long as they’re together, Jiang Hongyu feels he can do anything. But what will he d 8Reads—Score—14d adds
- 28 I’ll Give Our Love Back to You 我把爱情还给你 Gu Qingrang, loving you is too exhausting. 59Reads5.4Score—14d adds
- 29 What More Do You Want from Me? 你还要我怎样 She loved him, and he tortured her. She had secretly loved him for over ten years, but their love gradually faded away in a marriage that lasted less than two years... 115Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 30 I Swear by My Love, Though It Brings Me Sorrow 敬我相思不成悲 She was a peerlessly beautiful young woman, famous throughout the land, yet fate had placed her in a brothel. Meng Zhijun believed Murong Yan was the man meant for her. She endured humiliation and kept her head bowed, all so she could stay by his side. She thought they would grow old together. But the man she loved most broke her fingers and ruined her face. In the end, he carved the bones from her body, one by one, and made them into a shocking bone flute. “A Zhi, look. Your bones are perfect f 56Reads5.7Score—14d adds
- 31 A Worthy Minister Is Hard to Find 良臣难为 [Historical Romance + Ensemble Cast + Tragic Love + Fateful Misunderstandings + Imperial Court and Nobility + Love of Country and Family + Tearjerker + Bad Ending] I am the empress of a nation. Everyone who sees me bows respectfully and greets me with, “May the Empress be well.” Because my surname is Shen. My father, Shen Nian, died on the battlefield, his body never found. My mother died by suicide after him. My eldest brother held Yumen Pass for forty-five days against a hundredfold enemy forc 376Reads9.4Score10014d adds
- 32 Love So Deep, Desolation to the Bone 用情至深，刺骨荒凉 To save the woman he loved, she lay on the operating table and endured the agony of having her kidney removed. But she never imagined he could be cruel enough to have their child taken from her with his own hands, cause her parents’ deaths, and finally drive her to the end of her rope… 86Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 33 Love Turned to Ruin 婚爱成殇 After five years of marriage, Sang Nian still hadn't managed to warm Chi Yi's heart. For the sake of their sick child, she drugged Chi Yi, but all she got in return was his deep-seated hatred and vengeance. She lost the child... 18Reads—Score—14d adds
- 34 I Once Loved the Stars Above 也曾属意漫天星辰 He led his troops into battle and returned victorious, but came back with a woman in his arms. She never fought back or fought for attention, yet people kept framing her at every turn. “We promised to be each other's only one for life, but you broke your word.” “I don't love you anymore. Let me go.” 59Reads5.0Score—14d adds
- 35 After I Died, Everyone Was Left to Regret It 我死后，全员火葬场 After I Died, Everyone Held a Cremation for Me 40Reads—Score—14d adds
- 36 Farewell, My Love. I Shall Yearn for You No More 与君别过，再不相思 It takes ten years to love someone, but only an instant to hate them... Song Lianxing watched helplessly as Murong Ze forced her to drink an abortion potion, killing their own child. He took the fetal remains to save the woman he loved... Song Lianxing said, “I hope you... don't regret this!” Murong Ze thought he would never regret it. But only when he watched Song Lianxing draw her last breath with his own eyes did he learn how to write the word “regret.” 241Reads6.7Score—14d adds
- 37 She Just Took 300,000 in Bride Price, and Now She's Living With a Black Man 刚收了30万彩礼，她就和黑人同居了 She Just Received 300,000 in Bride Price, and Now She's Living with a Black Man 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 38 My Fiancé Died Before Me and Never Changed His Heart, While I Changed Mine After I Died 未婚夫原来死得比我早还没变心，而我死了就变心 My fiancé turned out to have died before me and never stopped loving me, while I changed my heart after he died 151Reads—Score—14d adds
- 39 Pleasures in the Palace Hall 殿上欢 The Chancellor's household was branded traitorous and slaughtered overnight, leaving her the daughter of a condemned criminal. Feng Yueli was tortured by Beigong Han's demand for her blood until she was nearly drained of life. But for her younger brother's sake, she had no choice but to cling to her last breath and keep going. At first, she said, “The Chancellor's household is innocent. My father was loyal through and through.” Later, she said, “This guilty woman is unworthy of becoming empress. 414Reads5.4Score—14d adds
- 40 You Are the Only Light in My Life 你是我生命里唯一的光 You are the only light in my life 37Reads5.1Score—14d adds
- 41 Bird in a Cage, Longing Sent to the Red Plum Blossoms 笼中鸟，相思寄红梅 A bird in a cage, longing sent with red plum blossoms 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 42 A Marriage at a Crossroads 婚途陌路 Strangers on the Road to Marriage 55Reads—Score—14d adds
- 43 I’ll Love You to the End of the World 爱你到世界尽头 Su Muxing loved Gu Mingshan so much she was willing to take a bullet for him. But when a man doesn’t love you, even if you take your heart out and place it in his hands, he’ll still think the blood on it is too dirty. So Gu Mingshan locked Su Muxing in a basement full of poisonous snakes and even killed her two children with his own hands. Gu Mingshan called her a vain woman who would stop at nothing. But one day, when the truth finally came to light, Gu Mingshan clutched his blood-soaked chest 23Reads5.5Score—14d adds
- 44 When the Pear Blossoms Fall, Longing Turns to Ash 梨花落，相思烬 A misunderstanding in their youth made Bai Jinhan hate Chu Lihua to the core. When he returns, he forcefully keeps her by his side, all so he can get even. What he doesn’t know is that she has already given everything for their love... Later, when every pear blossom has fallen and longing turns to sorrow, Chu Lihua slips away without a sound, while Bai Jinhan goes mad in a way that shakes the world... 110Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 45 The Love You Gave Me Cuts to the Bone 你给的爱残情蚀骨 Shen Qing loved Fu Yihan for six years, so much that she was willing to give him everything... But in the end... what a terrible, irredeemable fate awaited her! 81Reads5.8Score—14d adds
- 46 You Became the King, While I Became a Tragic Memory 你为君王，妾已成殇 After loving him for ten years, she helped him ascend the throne, but he slaughtered her entire family. These vast lands were stained with nothing but her family's blood. On a ten-mile bridal procession, he married the woman he loved and made her empress. Dressed all in white, she leapt from the city tower. Xiao Jingyu, my love for you has led me down a road from which there is no return. 351Reads5.5Score—14d adds
- 47 I Love You, I Deserve to Die 我爱你，我该死 Song Xixi spent more than a decade loving a man. In the end, she died at the hands of the person she loved most. He wanted her kidney, and she gave it to him. He wanted her life, and she gave it to him. He wanted her to turn back and love him once more, but she knew there was no going back... 166Reads5.0Score—14d adds
- 48 The Camellia Tree 山茶花树 “A Huai, the camellias on the mountain back home are blooming. I really wish you could go see them with me again.” “The camellias on the mountain bloom and wither, then bloom again, but the camellia in my heart will never fade.” 89Reads—Score—14d adds
- 49 Even Love and Longing Betrayed Me 风月也曾负相思 Her hands were stained with blood, yet she won this vast kingdom for him. He was the ruler, and she was his slave; decades of companionship could not outweigh a single tear from the woman he loved. To save his beloved, he offered her up to the enemy army. She endured every kind of torture, willingly. Still for the sake of his beloved, he severed her left arm, took her unborn child, and drained her blood to keep the other woman alive. Then, with a great army before her, her hair white as snow, sh 168Reads6.1Score—14d adds
- 50 I Give You the Bittersweet Pain of Parting 赠君人间苦别离 Xie Jingsheng hated Hua Zhezhi. When he was at his lowest, she not only kicked him while he was down, but nearly got him killed. The first thing he did after returning victorious was marry her, then drive her slowly insane. Hua Zhezhi was left with a crippled leg and suffered endless humiliation. When she was near death, she asked with red-rimmed eyes, “I never betrayed you. Why have you treated me this way?” “Keep making things up,” he said viciously, squeezing her throat. “Let’s see if you can 651Reads6.0Score—14d adds
