Novels like Middle Age: City of Desire
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Middle Age: City of Desire, best match first.
- 151 The Year of the Wolf and Tiger 狼虎之年 A panoramic survey of the raw emotional lives of people from different age groups and social classes in China today, vividly depicting the good and evil, beauty and ugliness of human nature amid the country’s rapid social transformation. It lays bare the conflicts and friction between people’s emotions and reality. 11.2kReads9.5Score1.2k14d adds
- 152 Those Years I Was the Big Brother 我当的哥那些年 Yang Rui, a struggling online novelist, applied to become a Didi rideshare driver so he could make ends meet and stop sponging off his parents. He thought it would just be a way to earn some extra money, but he never imagined that over the years he spent behind the wheel, he'd enjoy one stroke of good luck after another and meet benefactors who would help him rise... 192Reads9.3Score—14d adds
- 153 Spring Winds in Winter 冬季有春风 [Female Growth] [Childhood Sweethearts] [Turning the Tables Against the Odds] [Realistic] A girl battered by her dysfunctional family wants nothing more than to save the naive young boy who loves her. Life in the cramped alleyways is always the same, while the surging tide of the times takes everyone by surprise. In the winter at the end of the century, the gears of Xu Chunfeng's fate quietly began to turn. 3kReads8.0Score12714d adds
- 154 Everyday Life in the City: A Rich Heir in Beijing 都市日常：富二代在京城 "Love in the Mortal World: My Wild Wife in the Capital" My name is Tang Feng. I used to be a combat sports athlete and achieved some impressive results. After retiring, I started a new life. I came to the capital to experience life, embarking on a winding, realistic, and thrilling journey. From the start, I shared a rental apartment. The landlady would later become my wife. She was beautiful and wild. 2kReads8.7Score14314d adds
- 155 A True-Love Warrior's Adventures in Society 纯爱战神社会历险记 Beijing suburbs, 2006. A beat-up van, a guy at the wheel, the school beauty in the front seat, and 17-year-old Chen Mo in the back. He didn't dare look at her. All he could do was breathe in the scent of cream-cake shampoo in her hair. Whenever the van jolted, her hair brushed his face, and he sat rigid, afraid to move. Back then, he thought liking someone was enough. Then the school beauty pulled out a brand-new tarot deck and asked him to read her love fortune. He thought she was finally looki 13Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 156 Jade of Passion 艳玉 In the 1980s, Qiu Yuyu, a beautiful young woman from a mountain village, entered city life by chance and embarked on a career in government. But she soon became trapped in a mire of worldly entanglements and twisted romances, unable to pull herself free… The men and women in this story are not bad at heart, and they all had their original ideals. But they could not resist the temptations of worldly desires, and strayed further and further from their paths. In the end, none could avoid the danger 508Reads6.8Score6614d adds
- 157 Rural Love: The Marriage Swap 乡村爱情之换亲 The village looks peaceful, but undercurrents churn beneath the surface. Love, family affection, and illicit affairs intertwine to create a sweeping portrait of life. The beautiful village flower is forced to marry the poorest man in the village, and their story begins... 5.6kReads8.8Score46014d adds
- 158 Like You in Early Spring 初春如你 An office romance was a strict taboo Shu Xinran had set for herself, especially with Ji Ran, who was ten years younger. She had finally escaped her broken marriage and spent eight years enjoying her solitude. By now, she saw love as a luxury and wanted nothing to do with it. For the rest of her life, she only wanted a peaceful, steady existence. She didn’t want anyone disrupting her rhythm again. This early spring should have been just like any other. But she never expected that this spring woul 100Reads—Score—14d adds
- 159 Silver Flame and the Wrong Magic Address Office 银焰与错误魔法地址办公室 Silver Flame and the Office of Incorrect Magical Addresses 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 160 When Ji Comes, Make Yourself at Home 季来之，则安之 As the empire teeters on the brink of collapse, Ji Shuhe sees through her fiancé’s false affection and turns around to marry Ji Bai. She intends for them to spend their lives treating each other with polite respect, but finds herself falling deeper and deeper under his doting care... 126Reads—Score—14d adds
- 161 We Agreed to Date, Not Move In Together. Why Are You Taking This Seriously?! 说好只交往不同居，你咋玩真的！ (One female lead + urban slice of life + mutual flirting and pursuit + workplace wish fulfillment + no System) After getting involved with a pure yet alluring goddess right from the start, Gu Ming was immediately branded a kept man. Burdened by an unspoken difficulty, he had no choice but to propose a hasty arrangement in order to convince her to agree. "We can date, but we don't live together. That's not an unreasonable request, right?" Instead, he got nothing but mockery and contempt from her. 567Reads—Score12014d adds
- 162 The World’s Wayward Son 人间浪子 Old Wei's suicide changed the course of Lin Yifei's life. The Lin Yifei who used to watch everyone's mood and grovel just to make ends meet finally stood up for himself! It turned out that a life of having nothing left to lose could bring so many surprises and unexpected turns! 15.5kReads9.3Score1.7k14d adds
- 163 A Lifetime of Humiliation, All for the Day of Reckoning 半生忍辱只等清算时刻 As a child, he lost his mother, who called him a good-for-nothing, and his father, who was useless alive. He barely survived the beatings and abuse from his stepfather and the others. Later, he discovered that his father hadn't actually died by suicide. He endured countless humiliations, and over 37 years, through patience and cunning, rose from an insignificant nobody to a wealthy power broker. He pulled off a breathtaking comeback! He spent half his life enduring humiliation, not just to survi 32Reads—Score—14d adds
- 164 Shallow and Scummy, I Take the Entertainment Industry by Storm and Win Over Every Star 主打一个肤浅渣穿娱乐圈通杀明星 My new work is out! You can read it on Tomato Novel. I hope you’ll enjoy it. Your support motivates me to write, and I’ll do my best to tell every story well! 73Reads—Score—14d adds
- 165 The Bronze Statue and the Stake 铜像与火刑柱 The Bronze Statue and the Stake 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 166 Never Mess with a Pisces Woman 千万不要招惹双鱼座女生 [Workplace] [Urban Life] [Marriage Before Love] Mumu is a Pisces woman who entered the workplace with two labels already attached to her: timid and easy to bully. But no one knows that beneath the soft exterior of a Pisces lies the heart of a great demon king. When everyone thinks she’ll be swallowed up by the workplace, Mumu proves to the world through her actions: Don’t make a Pisces cry, because once she’s done crying, it’ll be your turn. This novel could also be called Mumu’s Rise to the Top 134Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 167 Overseas Turmoil: The Path of a Crime Lord 海外风云之枭雄路途 My name is Lin Feng. I’ve encountered, witnessed, and experienced many industries and incidents that people would rather keep hidden. So many people have been lured overseas by high-paying jobs, only to die. So many have died because their desires could never be satisfied. This synopsis can’t do the story justice. Read the novel to find out more. 8kReads9.1Score65714d adds
- 168 The City's Ultimate Player in Love 都市情场高高手 Lao Liu, an urban office worker, unexpectedly runs into the girl he had a crush on as a teenager. After much hesitation, he decides to pursue his youthful dream. Through a twist of fate, he ends up meeting his dream girl’s cousin by accident. Caught between the two women, he is confused and carried away by his feelings, yet too timid to act... 445Reads9.4Score10514d adds
- 169 Childhood in the Old Days 旧时光里的童年 The author recalls a rural childhood in Wuchang County, Heilongjiang Province, during the 1970s and 1980s. The book describes rural life and the changes brought about by the household responsibility system in the early days of reform and opening up, along with the joys and hardships of the author’s childhood before the age of ten, major family upheavals, and the warmth and coldness of human nature. 39Reads—Score314d adds
- 170 True to Myself 本心 No one can live solely for others, but neither can we completely cast aside our responsibilities. In real life, we often waver between “living for others” and “living for ourselves,” all the while judged by moral standards. Family relationships are not static; they change over time. Families that endure hardship may fall apart, rebuild themselves, or eventually go their separate ways, living along parallel paths of their own. As we struggle to survive, how do we come to understand ourselves and 693Reads—Score—14d adds
- 171 After My Wife Died, My Life Soared Against the Odds 老婆去世后，我的人生逆风飞扬 My name is Shu Shuang. Shu as in “comfortable,” and Shuang as in “refreshing.” I was twelve when both my parents died, and Cheng Yexiang raised me. When I was twenty-one, Cheng Yexiang’s eldest daughter, Cheng Ke, who was the same age as me, married me. After Cheng Ke and I got married, we opened a small shop in the city called Keshuang Supermarket. Three months later, she died in a tragic car accident. I felt as though the sky had fallen. Life no longer seemed worth living. Cheng Yexiang had lo 12.5kReads8.8Score1.1k14d adds
- 172 Factory Underworld 工厂江湖 Savor the ups and downs of life, and watch its many twists with a smile. Follow Li Mu, a university graduate, as he repeatedly stumbles and gets back up amid the scheming and backstabbing of the workplace, eventually transforming from a clueless rookie into a smooth, savvy winner who can handle anything. 20.9kReads9.5Score2.3k14d adds
- 173 Divorcing with Terminal Cancer 癌症晚期离婚 [Everyday life + heartwarming + despair + one heroine + moving + relentless misfortune + no System + mother-daughter conflict + villains growing old + standing up to everyone + siblings + food lovers] Originally titled My Wife Divorced Me When I Had Terminal Cancer, Then My Mother-in-Law Knocked at Midnight Programmer Chen Xun often worked overtime and smoked. He developed terminal lung cancer, with only six months left to live. Not wanting to burden anyone, Chen Xun chose to divorce his wife an 19kReads9.1Score1.6k14d adds
- 174 Those of Us Born in the ’80s 八零后的我们 We, the post-80s generation, have weathered life's joys and sorrows and suffered enough from the hardships of life and marriage. Amid the daily grind, our days have been steadily dwindling, and before we knew it, our generation had reached middle age... 2.7kReads8.2Score16514d adds
- 175 A Review of This Life 复盘今生 Wang Yuhan once had a happy family. He and his wife, Yu Meixia, were both teachers. They excelled at their jobs, had a son and a daughter, and were the envy of everyone. But then, one day, it all vanished. If you were the protagonist, how would you react? How would you face betrayal by the person you love and trust most? Drawing on a deep understanding of life, the author tells a moving, vivid story of love and loss, life and death, and tangled passions in plain, flowing prose. The story also ra 750Reads8.8Score10114d adds
- 176 A Nobody's Rise Begins with an Acceptance Letter 草根逆袭从录取通知书开始 As Heaven moves with vigor, a gentleman strives tirelessly to improve himself; as Earth is broad and steadfast, a gentleman bears all things with great virtue. At eighteen, a poor country boy from the mountains got into college with a stroke of luck. Through sheer grit and relentless hard work, he endured and overcame one hardship after another: poverty, hunger, a weak educational foundation, contempt from others, and misunderstandings from his superiors. Though he completed four years of colleg 5.7kReads8.8Score42714d adds
- 177 The Legend of the Top Salesperson 销冠传奇 No connections, only a shadow. But competition cannot be stopped. In an age when there are too many people chasing too few opportunities, you have to compete constantly to claim your share of the resources, with no end in sight... 1.2kReads8.9Score10714d adds
- 178 Loving You from Afar 站在远处爱 Liang Qingtong is new to the workplace and deeply admires Lu Chengyang, an industry role model. That exceptional man is her idol, her dream guy. By chance, she becomes his subordinate, and before she knows it, she seems to have fallen for him. He is decisive and efficient at work, but when it comes to love, he has no idea what he’s doing! We’re all just a bunch of unfortunate people: we can’t have the ones we love, we don’t cherish the ones we have, and when we’re together, we suspect each other 71Reads—Score—14d adds
- 179 Middle Age 人到中年 (This book once topped the charts with 2.2 million readers. Recommended for adults aged 25 and over.) Middle age, an unfaithful wife, a career in the doldrums... How can he rise again and escape life's predicament? 2kReads8.5Score16114d adds
- 180 The Dust of Mortal Life 尘事 This book chronicles a family across a hundred years. An illiterate country woman is forced to abandon her newborn child, then wanders from place to place amid the chaos of a turbulent era, struggling to survive in the cracks. Told as a work of documentary fiction, this story depicts the joys and sorrows of several generations of an ordinary family, bringing a long-buried past to light. Let posterity decide who was right and who was wrong! 2kReads8.9Score18014d adds
- 181 The Little Country Doctor 乡村小野医 [Countryside + Miracle Doctor + Left-Behind Families + Beauties] Yang Jiamu, a village doctor, saves a beautiful young widow, changing his life forever. Watch him rise to greatness and live a glorious life! 2.9kReads9.0Score40014d adds
- 182 The Way of Heaven Is Strong 天行健 In his early thirties, he was betrayed by his wife and left his hometown in a rage. After enduring the hardships of survival and facing the harsh realities of society, he made a comeback and became a legendary business magnate. Through countless rises and falls, love and heartbreak, he ultimately became a king who could shape the course of the world. 13.4kReads9.1Score1.7k14d adds
- 183 When My Ex-Husband Asked to Get Back Together, I Was in My Prime 前夫求复合时，我风华正茂 When My Ex-Husband Asked to Get Back Together, I Was in My Prime 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 184 Book Transmigration: I'm Done Acting Out This Fake Script 穿书：这伪剧本我不演了 After transmigrating into a book, Jiang Yuchi discovers something strange: the plot she sees is all fake. The original book says she's a cannon-fodder noblewoman who throws herself at the regent and dies suddenly in March. She decides to stay far away and keep a low profile. But the timeline starts going awry, and the plot she remembers becomes useless page by page. Until she accidentally stumbles into the regent's secret chamber and finds a cabinet packed with old, bloodstained pages Every pa 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 185 Reborn in 1993: Call Me a Corporate-Grade Scumbag 重生1993：请叫我企业级渣男 At a celebration banquet, Wang Wei, who had successfully shorted the stock of a certain beverage company, joked that if Heaven gave him another chance, he would never be a financial speculator again. Building real businesses would be his only goal. When he wakes up, Heaven grants his wish: he has returned to 1993, to the crossroads in life he faced when he went on a blind date. This time, he turns down his blind date first and chooses another path to fortune. I’m a businessman, not a scumbag who 4.7kReads8.9Score42514d adds
- 186 The Plains' True Colors 平原底色 Beginning in the twenty-first century, this novel follows Fang Lizhu, a child of the post-80s generation growing up in the rural Jianghan Plain of central China. Through Fang Lizhu's education, work, and the many people he meets and events he experiences, the novel portrays how life has changed for people across the plains since the start of the new century. It also depicts the many ways ordinary people respond to sweeping changes in a new era and a shifting social landscape: the choices they ma 17Reads—Score11414d adds
- 187 Love Among the Mountains and Rivers 山水情 (Urban slice of life, inspirational growth, a nostalgic era, rich in detail) The beauty of mountains and rivers, the many faces of humanity, the fickleness of the world. The protagonist, Jiang Nan, knows right from wrong and values loyalty and affection. He grows from a poor boy who suffers humiliation into a fine young man admired by everyone. This story is grounded in real life, with family bonds, friendship, romance, and a deep love for his hometown. He leads the villagers to prosperity, ris 14.1kReads9.1Score1.5k14d adds
- 188 The Little Bridge Cave Family Compound 小桥洞家属院 [Period Setting] [Ensemble Cast] [Everyday Life] The results came out a few months after it was completed. This novel is fantastic! Zhang Yan and Deng Yang were born in the Xiaoqiaodong factory compound and grew up beneath the chimneys of the State Chemical Plant. There was no glamour or respectability here, only the bustle of daily life, sweat, arguments, and warmth. In 1997, as firecrackers exploded to celebrate Hong Kong's return, they still thought their parents would wear their work uniform 591Reads8.1Score10214d adds
- 189 A Down-and-Out Life: Chen Chu Rises 落魄人生之陈楚崛起 [Moral Ambiguity + Goddess Collector + Forest Lumberjack + Peerless Divine Arts + Making Money Through Deception + Hundred-Billion Business Empire + Alternate Dimensions + Parallel Universes + Time Travel + Mysterious Alien Planet + The Extravagant Second District of the Human World + Mysterious Underground Third District + Comedy + Laying Low to Grow Strong] Inside the ring's spatial realm, he accidentally discovers alternate dimensions, parallel universes, time travel, and a mysterious alien p 1.1kReads8.0Score—14d adds
- 190 A Fierce Life: Moving in with Auntie 彪悍人生：从入住阿姨家开始 After graduating from college, Chen Shi’an returns home, and the wheels of fate begin to turn. The road through the underworld stretches on, while love and loyalty are lost in the haze. After being tested by love and career, he eventually finds his happy ending and raises the banner of justice! 331Reads6.1Score—14d adds
- 191 Middle Age, and My Marriage Is an Empty Shell 人到中年，婚姻只剩空壳 From innocent young love to an unexpected pregnancy before marriage, she blundered into a marriage she’d never truly wanted. Before the wedding, her mother-in-law schemed constantly and was stingy, refusing to give even a penny in bride price. From the moment she entered the family home, she felt wronged and began to harbor resentment. After the wedding, her husband proved to be a complete mama’s boy: mediocre, unambitious, and incapable of taking responsibility. He did whatever his mother told 3.4kReads—Score16814d adds
- 192 The Phoenix Woman Marries a Phoenix Man 凤凰女嫁给凤凰男 This is an inspirational story about Yan Yan and Liang Liang, two top students who make their way from the countryside to Beijing. Through their own hard work, they put down roots there, buy a home and a car, and raise a family. Their journey is filled with hardships and laughter, as they keep facing new challenges and growing along the way. 255Reads—Score—14d adds
- 193 May the Rest of My Life Be Filled with Joy 余生皆欢喜 [Women's Growth + Marriage and Relationships + Emotions] Marriage is for happiness, and so is divorce! A new novel from Wang Erqiao, author of the acclaimed ensemble novel I Wish You Everlasting Joy! Marriage is for happiness, and so is divorce! Open this book and discover the happy lives of two girls who make different choices! Originally titled The Woman Holding a Flower of Happiness. After graduating from college, Sichuan native Wang Yanzi moves to Beijing to join her boyfriend, Wen Bo. Just 4.9kReads9.5Score68614d adds
- 194 Parallel Worlds: Three Spaces 平行世界-三个空间 Parallel Worlds: Three Spaces 12Reads—Score114d adds
- 195 Seven Kilograms of Love 七公斤的爱情 Jian Nuo is always thinking about changing her name. She thinks it sounds so delicious that she'll never be able to lose weight. 5.2kReads9.2Score53814d adds
- 196 You Want Me to Turn Over a New Leaf? Just You Wait! 让我浪子回头？你给我等着！ Original title: Auntie, Don't Be Afraid Before taking his own life, Su Yang swore that if he got another chance at life... He would find someone who truly understood him! A woman who truly loved him! When he suddenly woke up, he found an older woman kneeling beside him. She was wearing a tattered pair of pajamas and trembling as she looked at him. “Please don't hit me, okay? I have to attend my child's parent-teacher meeting tomorrow...” 334Reads8.7Score10214d adds
- 197 The Seductive Wife 媚妇 [Divine doctor + countryside] College student Lu Feng is left a fool after the village chief harms him, but his enemy's fiancée wants to offer herself to him. Many people have persecuted them, but luckily Lu Feng gains the mysterious legacy known as the Nine-Eyed Divine Art. One glance makes beautiful women fall for him, one glance cures every illness, and one glance subdues all things. From then on, he becomes a renowned miracle doctor, treating the sick, taking on local bullies, pursuing beaut 6.6kReads9.2Score97014d adds
- 198 At Dusk, the Child Returns 暮时子归 [Print edition now available] “Did you know Lin Daiyu is supposed to be paired with Sun Wukong? Nuwa arranged this ‘wood-and-stone bond’ as the destined match of the Goddess of the Xiao River and the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.” Xiao Xiang has had enough of drifting around and wants to go back to her hometown and live off her family. But the place is a complete mess, and there's nowhere for her to stay. Then there's that crafty Great Sage with eight hundred tricks up his sleeve, constantly makin 165Reads—Score—14d adds
- 199 My Man Cheated with My Best Friend, and Now He’s Desperate to Win Me Back 男人出轨闺蜜，我转身他追疯了 My Man Cheated with My Best Friend. I Walked Away, and Now He’s Desperate to Get Me Back 329Reads—Score414d adds
- 200 Hello, Mr. Doraemon 你好，哆啦A梦先生 I had only wanted to live an easy, carefree life as an ordinary person. But when my childhood sweetheart and first CEO girlfriend married someone else for the sake of profit, and my beautiful second girlfriend, a painter, sacrificed herself for power, I realized I couldn't keep being a pushover. I had to fight back! When I finally stood at the top of the pyramid, I gave life a resounding shout... 1.8kReads8.7Score19714d adds
