Novels like Climbing the Social Ladder
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Climbing the Social Ladder, best match first.
- 51 Mr. Fu, Your Wife Was Tortured to Death by You 傅总，夫人被你虐死了 [Obsessive love + Imprisonment + Angst before sweetness + The husband’s long road to winning her back + The heroine awakens] She was clearly the one who had saved Fu Yechen’s life, yet someone else stole her identity, making her the enemy who had killed his mother. To take revenge on her, he imprisoned and tortured her. Only when her memories gradually returned did he begin his long, desperate pursuit to win her back. “Have you heard? Young Master Fu just spent 300 million on his wife, buying th 231Reads7.4Score—14d adds
- 52 A Small-Town Girl's Ten-Year Secret Crush 一个小镇女孩暗恋的十年 [Ten years of secret love × running away while pregnant × groveling to win her back × reunion after years apart × powerful man finally bows his head × both are each other’s first and only] This is not a mindless wish-fulfillment story!! The heroine is not love-brained!!! This is not a pampered-wife story!! People will die, so if you only want happy endings, this isn’t for you! No rebirth, no golden finger, no evil female rival, no women competing against each other, and no putting the heroine th 4.4kReads8.2Score34214d adds
- 53 After the Tragic Beauty Catches the Eye of a Younger Obsessive Tycoon 美强惨被年下偏执大佬盯上后 [The chase to win his wife back is underway~] Yan Qingming was lofty and peerlessly beautiful, like a tempting rose, gorgeous yet dangerous, someone everyone could only admire from afar. Everyone secretly hoped they could pull him down from his pedestal and watch him fall into the mud, where he would be theirs alone to admire... That is, until he took a frail young man home from the roadside and cared for him devotedly. In the end, that boy turned his life completely upside down! Qi Xiaolin had 427Reads6.2Score—14d adds
- 54 He Came Back Before the Wind Stopped 风停之前，他回来了 Seventeen years ago, Zhou Yubai left Lin Wan when he loved her most. He said, “Lin Wan, I don’t want you anymore.” Seventeen years later, Lin Wan is in charge of an urban renewal project in the old district. She personally signs the demolition order for Building Seventeen. It was their secret hideaway when they were seventeen. And the place where they last saw each other. On the day they reunite, Zhou Yubai returns as a documentary filmmaker to capture the old district’s final night. She h 11Reads—Score—14d adds
- 55 Cold-Blooded CEO, I Can Never Love You Again 嗜血冷总，再也爱不起你 After going to prison, she never loved Leng Qianhan again. The man knelt before her, weeping and pleading. “Qingqian, for the sake of our child, give me a chance. Could you love me one more time? Our child has grown up without a father or mother. He needs a father's love and a mother's love. Let's give him a complete family. We can all be happy...” The woman immediately recoiled. “I don't have a child! My baby is dead. He died as soon as he was born. You cut him out of me and threw him in the tr 335Reads5.9Score1314d adds
- 56 The Mortal's Immortal Legend 凡人修仙神传 [Mortal Cultivator] [No System] [Decisive and Ruthless] [Transmigration] [Not a Do-Gooder] [Fast-Paced] The path to immortality is vast and endless. How insignificant is the mortal world? Billions of lives can vanish in the blink of an eye. A mountain village boy, caught between life and death, has no choice but to trust an unreliable old man! With the cultivation technique he inherits, how can he rise from an ordinary mortal, forge new horizons in the cruel world of cultivation, and carve out a 119Reads—Score16114d adds
- 57 I Put My Parents' Retirement Savings Into My Own Account 我把父母的养老钱存进了自己账户 I Put My Parents' Retirement Savings in My Own Account 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 58 The Three-Coin Tea Grows Cold, While Hatred Burns 三文茶凉，恨字滚烫 The Tea Has Gone Cold, but the Word 'Hate' Still Burns 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 59 The Broth Boiled Dry, and the Dead Man She Awaited Came Back 清汤滚尽，她等的死人回来了 The Broth Boiled Dry, and the Dead Man She Was Waiting for Came Back 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 60 She Wielded a Blade for Ten Years, Then Drove It into His Heart 她打了十年刀，最后一把捅进了他心口 She wielded a blade for ten years, then plunged it into his heart. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 61 158,000: The Most Expensive Lesson My Daughter Will Ever Learn 十五万八，是我女儿这辈子最贵的一堂课 158,000 yuan: the most expensive lesson my daughter will ever learn. 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 62 After My Mission Failed, Both Male Leads Blew Up Their Souls for Me 攻略失败后，两个男主都为我自爆神魂 After My Pursuit Failed, Both Male Leads Self-Destructed Their Souls for Me —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 63 A Youth Wasted 虚度一个青春 Wasting Away a Youth 28Reads—Score—14d adds
- 64 Do No Harm 莫伤 Deception + hypocrisy + BE Happy memories, his parents’ affection, and his older brother’s care had all been nothing but a dream, a delusion. “After you get married, I don’t want to see him live a happy life. He doesn’t deserve it.” Those were the words Mo Shang’s father said to Lu Yancheng in person on their wedding day. Because he looked like his maternal grandparents, his own mother despised him, his older brother bullied him, and neither of his parents loved him. “What kind of person do you 229Reads6.0Score—14d adds
- 65 My Secret Crush Owes Me 100,000 and Hasn't Paid Me Back in Nine Years 暗恋男神欠我10万，9年未还 My Secret Crush Owes Me 100,000 and Hasn't Paid Me Back in Nine Years 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 66 The Mob 乌合之众 The first time Yang Ru saw Shen Lian, he looked so pure and detached from worldly desires. She had already made up her mind: She would become his unattainable ideal, and the unforgettable woman etched into his heart. · The person Yang Ru set out to seduce was her archenemy’s childhood friend. She thought she’d have to go to great lengths, but he merely raised an eyebrow and calmly fell for her bait. A cool, seductive, scheming goddess versus a seemingly abstinent heir from a family of privilege. 5.4kReads8.0Score47314d adds
- 67 After He Called Off the Engagement, He Became Someone I Could Never Hope to Marry 退婚后，他成了我的高攀不起 After Our Engagement Was Called Off, He Became Someone I Could Never Hope to Reach —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 68 Loving You Until Thirty 爱你爱到三十岁 Lin Muran never imagined that, in the end, things would turn out so bleakly. If she had known, she would never have gone home with Luo Chen, no matter what. Five years may not seem long, but they're enough to leave a sincere heart shattered and a person so utterly destroyed that not even their ashes can be found. For the rest of her life, all she will see is herself. 107Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 69 Sick Obsession 病态痴迷 After three years with Jiang Qichuan, Wen Mian became pregnant. Her heart was full of joy, but all she got from him was: “She’s back.” She left without a word, hiding her pregnancy. But he refused to let her go. He drove her family to their deaths and clipped her wings, turning her into a canary in a cage once more, kept from the light of day. Jiang Qichuan said, “You were the one who started dreaming above your station.” Only later, after a fire claimed two lives, did he finally see her pregnan 517Reads6.9Score10014d adds
- 70 You Wanted to Break Up, So We Broke Up 当初是你要分开，分开就分开 Also known as: A Wish Beyond Recall [The ex-chasing reckoning] ➕ [Male lead is chaste; female lead has partners besides him. Why should she be expected to remain chaste after they break up? Readers who only want chaste heroines, beware] [This is an ex-chasing reckoning story! A reckoning! No substitutes! No whitewashing!] [As for who the male lead is, no spoilers! No spoilers! The heroine won’t suffer! Everyone has their own tastes] * Ye Zhi was with Li Jin for six years. She thought they w 45Reads8.5Score—14d adds
- 71 Withered, Yet Never Lost 枯萎不渡 On the day He Yu got engaged, Jiang Wei decided to take a job overseas. From then on, they would each go their separate ways. It’s easy to give up on someone: don’t see them, and don’t make a fool of yourself. 438Reads8.9Score16414d adds
- 72 Where Punishment Falls, Obsession Takes Root 薄刑落处，痴念入骨 Forced Love + Intense Push and Pull + Unhinged Female Lead + Dog Training + Love Triangle Showdown + Winter That Burns 1 v2 + Groveling Redemption [Sweet-Acting, Black-Hearted Princess with a Hollow Core ❌ Scheming, Cunning Man ❌ PTSD-Ridden Yandere] Her kingdom falls and her family is ruined. The princess, born to privilege, sinks into the mire. She becomes a prisoner, a disgraced princess of a fallen kingdom, and a plaything for others to torment in the palm of their hand. - Everyone says he 9.6kReads6.3Score38414d adds
- 73 Consumed to the Bone 沉溺入骨 They agreed it would be a “business arrangement”: he would help her pay off fifty million in debt, and she would play along with his act. But Bo Nian couldn’t resist his good looks. She became addicted to him, only to discover that he was hiding a girl and protecting her fiercely. He even went so far as to take her bone marrow for that girl. Only then did Bo Nian face reality: she would never be able to warm his heart. He said, “I can’t be responsible for what happens to other people. Life and 655Reads8.2Score10314d adds
- 74 At the Class Reunion, My Wife Sat on the Property Deputy Manager's Lap, and the Whole Class Called Me Cheap 同学聚会，老婆坐在物业副总腿上，全班说我小气 At the Class Reunion, My Wife Sat on the Property Management Deputy Director's Lap, and the Whole Class Called Me Stingy 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 75 When the Strings Snap, Love Ends, and I Forget You 弦断情尽不念君 He, the son of the Heavenly Emperor, is The Outcast, second only to one and above countless others. She gave three drops of her heart's blood, and her divine soul was damaged, her body destroyed. I severed my ties of affection and erased my name. I brought calamity upon the Three Realms... in exchange for eternal peace. And just as she suffered when she loved him, so he would repay her a hundredfold, a thousandfold. 173Reads5.3Score—14d adds
- 76 I Want Her 馋上她了 [Reunion after years apart + win-her-back heartbreak + rekindled love + both leads are each other’s firsts + intense romantic tension] At a senior-year pep rally, Ling Jie falls for the model student Sang Jin. She’s as pure as a swan, and he wickedly wants to corrupt her. After the college entrance exams, they date for a while. Before leaving the country, Ling Jie gives Sang Jin an apartment as compensation. “So much for being a model student. We were only playing around.” When they meet again, 1.4kReads7.0Score10114d adds
- 77 Young Master He Comes to His Senses, but She’s Done with Him 贺少醒悟，她不要他了【虐文】 At her older sister Chen Yuhe's wedding, Chen Lan accidentally learned that her boyfriend, He Yu, had always been in love with Chen Yuhe. She had only ever been a way for him to get close to her sister, not even worthy of being called a pathetic substitute. She couldn't understand why, from the moment she was born, her parents had coldly abandoned her. When she returned to them, they ignored her, mocked her, and constantly compared her to her sister, who lived like a proud swan, untouched by har 81Reads6.2Score—14d adds
- 78 He Said, "Don't Love Me, It Won't End Well" 他说别爱我没结果 He Said, Don't Fall for Me, It Won't End Well 198Reads—Score214d adds
- 79 He's Just a Fool 他只是个傻子 [Boys' Love / melodrama / happy ending / modern / angst / win-back romance / silly fool fiction] Qin Yun was deemed a failure and sent to a remote mountain village to oversee the management of a mine. There he met a fool. Though dim-witted, the fool was good at taking care of others. In this impoverished backwater, Qin Yun made a move on the only little fool he found tolerable to look at. But after hurting him recklessly again and again, Qin Yun never expected the fool to say he didn't love him 62Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 80 Mr. Lin, That Baby Looks Just Like You 林总，那崽崽像你 Clear-Headed, Resilient Beauty × Decisive, Ruthless Big Shot Sharp Tongues and Stubborn Hearts | His Long Road to Winning Her Back | Both Leads Are Inexperienced Not long after Lu Yunqi’s marriage in name only ended with her husband’s death, her mother-in-law sent her to the bed of Lin Siheng, a powerful business tycoon. Lin Siheng was also her late husband’s cousin. After falling into his arms night after night, she thought he must feel something for her. Then, by chance, Lu Yunqi heard wh 1.2kReads6.8Score10014d adds
- 81 Forced Possession 强行占有 [Devoted to each other, sweet romance, equally formidable leads, one-on-one romance] Everyone knows that Second Master Shen, Shen Shiyan, has always been the sort of man who can wander through a garden of flowers without a single petal clinging to him. That is, until he met Shen Luxi. Shen Shiyan made the first move, and then he made the second one too. So Shen Luxi decided to play along and walked right into the tiger’s den. Shen Shiyan always thought it was just a bit of fun, until Shen Luxi q 11.1kReads9.1Score1k14d adds
- 82 After Her Mission Failed, She Faked Her Death, and Mr. Mu Went Mad 攻略失败假死后，慕先生疯了 After three years of pursuing him, his affection suddenly started plummeting. It was about to fall below the critical threshold, leaving An Ruzhi with only three months. She decided to let loose. If she couldn’t move a man even after giving it her all, then she’d stop trying, fake her death, and run away. Whatever happened after that was none of her concern. But her “death” was fake, while his madness was real. After she disappeared, the man who had always treated her as a replacement lost his m 427Reads5.3Score—14d adds
- 83 At Thirty-Six, I Finally Dumped That Good-for-Nothing Scumbag 三十六岁，我终于甩掉了烂人渣男 At thirty-six, I finally dumped my worthless scumbag boyfriend 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 84 Transmigrated to Ancient Times, I Became a Landlord's Young Master and Lived at Ease 穿越古代成为地主少爷悠闲生活 The protagonist, Tang Fan, was an overworked modern office worker. He worked overtime every day, lived in a tiny rented room of barely a dozen square meters, and ate instant noodles day after day. At last, he couldn't take it anymore and died suddenly from exhaustion. Then he transmigrated to ancient times, in the Great Qian Dynasty, as the young master of a landlord's family. He had thousands of mu of fertile farmland, pretty maids to wait on him, and a loyal old steward. He even earned the anc 4.4kReads—Score34014d adds
- 85 Forced Love: Beyond Reach 强制爱：贵不可攀 Resilient, kindhearted village widow from the bottom of society × proud, ambitious top-ranking nobleman who says one thing and feels another [HE + Groveling Chase + Rekindled Love + Coercive Possession + Cheating + Neither Lead Is a Virgin] Xue Zhi, grandson of the Duke of Xue, was born into privilege and was the very picture of a favored son of heaven. He had toyed with countless women. Zhou Fengchun was just a poor widow from the mountains who had once saved him. She stuttered and had a six-y 14kReads8.5Score1.3k14d adds
- 86 Captain Qin, Your Wife Really Wants a Divorce 秦机长，太太是真的想离婚了 [Intense, Seductive Airline Captain vs. Beautiful, Rebellious Flight Attendant] Three years into her marriage to Qin Buzhou, Li Ruan thought they were a perfect match in married life. Only later did she realize they were compatible in bed and nowhere else. Qin Buzhou would always care most about his adopted stepsister, his so-called unrequited love. Li Ruan moved out of their marital home, disillusioned, and asked for a divorce. * In everyone’s eyes, Li Ruan was a scheming woman who had married 8.3kReads7.1Score62514d adds
- 87 Mom, I Really Did What You Wanted and Went to Die 妈妈，我如你的愿真的去死了 During a bout of depression, I stood on the rooftop, wanting to jump. The firefighters finally managed to talk me down. My mother arrived late and rushed over to slap me: "All you do is embarrass me! Why didn't you actually jump? You keep trying to scare people every day, threatening to jump! I wish you'd hurry up and die, so I wouldn't have to see you and get annoyed!" Later, when I really did die, she went to my grave every day and wept her heart out. 1.9kReads—Score15314d adds
- 88 I Have Never Truly Lived 我从未真正的活过 [Pure despair | Ultimate tragedy | No redemption | Suffocating from beginning to end | No twists, no rebirth, no coming to terms] Diagnosed with moderate depression and bipolar disorder at the age of twelve, a boy spends ten years learning one thing: how to hide his own death perfectly in the middle of a crowd. This is not a story about fighting back. There is no comeback, no redemption, and no one opening the door at the last moment. It is a story about “not existing.” When no one has ever tru 5.8kReads6.9Score1.1k14d adds
- 89 Longing for Our Reunion Day After Day, Forgetting Each Other Year After Year 朝朝盼重逢，念念总相忘 [Angst, angst, angst! Extremely angsty, proceed with caution!] Five years ago The golden boy Ji Lingchuan knelt on the ground, desperately begging Xia Zhiyi not to leave him. But she coldly told him to get lost, then turned around and married someone else. Five years later The bar hostess Xia Zhiyi knelt before the untouchable Mr. Ji, fawning over him. He shoved her away, saying she was filthy. He hated her, bullied her, and was consumed by the desire to take revenge on her. But when he saw a li 710Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 90 Love's Haven 栖爱 [Chasing your wife to the crematorium] [Rekindled love] He chases her to the crematorium and wins her back! That's right, he wins her back! If this isn't your kind of story, please don't read it! Just move on instead of making yourself suffer! CEO male lead x female lead, a senior executive from investment banking An evenly matched couple The female lead falls in love at first sight. The male lead is slow to realize his feelings, and later humbles himself to win her back. Four years ago, Lu Ming 369Reads8.2Score—14d adds
- 91 The Spoiled Heir Was Forced to Become a Concubine! 纨绔世子被逼当妾后！ The Spoiled Young Lord Is Forced to Become a Concubine! 541Reads—Score—14d adds
- 92 I've Been a Joke for Three Years, and You Still Won't Let Me Leave with Dignity 做了三年笑话，你还不让我体面离场 After three years as a laughingstock, you still won't let me make a dignified exit 19Reads—Score—14d adds
- 93 Mr. Lu, Your Love Came Too Late 陆总，你的爱情不及时 Childhood friends to lovers + mutual firsts + the whole family’s darling Everyone knows that Mr. Lu has a little girl by his side whom he’s raised for over twenty years and spoils to no end. He stubbornly insists she’s only his little sister. Xiao Lingduo is furious. To hell with being his little sister! She has plenty of other big brothers. She doesn’t need him! The world is so big. She wants to go see it! Maybe she’ll meet someone even better than him! Once the little thing leaves, Mr. Lu feel 207Reads7.5Score—14d adds
- 94 Mr. Duan, Stop Tormenting Him. He Doesn't Have Long to Live 段先生别虐了，他命不久矣 [One-on-one, both sexually inexperienced + male-male romance + second chance love + devoted and ruthless x frail and pitiful + happy ending] Duan Lin hated Wen Yu'an with all his heart. He hated him for turning against him when he had nowhere left to go, and for exposing his whereabouts, nearly costing him his life. He swore to make the traitor pay, never knowing that the earth-shattering betrayal had been a life-for-life gambit from beginning to end. When they met again after years apart, the s 12.3kReads7.4Score1.5k14d adds
- 95 His Sweet Wife Is a Fiery Temptress: Mrs. Mo Is Utterly Spoiled 娇妻惹火，墨太太她被惯坏了 Shen Qiangwei was the biggest topic of conversation in all of Ningcheng, whether people were talking about her beauty or her luck. Her transition from Miss Shen to Mrs. Mo was seamless. Her luck was practically cheat-level. Mr. Mo was handsome and wealthy, ruthless in the business world, yet he reserved all his tenderness for the lovely wife in his arms. Whatever she did, however willful she was, Mr. Mo would smile and indulge her. In the battle called love, Shen Qiangwei was almost unbeatable. 1kReads8.1Score10114d adds
- 96 Caged and Cherished 禁锢偏宠 [Warlord-era tragic romance, a crazed and obsessive hero and a gentle, graceful heroine] In the Republican era, on the twenty-fourth day of the first lunar month, she married into the Ning family wearing red. She sought neither wealth nor status, only a peaceful, happy life. Unexpectedly, he returned with his army while still young, killing her husband, violating her, and humiliating her soul, keeping her imprisoned in the palm of his hand. The more she resisted, the more possessively and forcef 93Reads—Score—14d adds
- 97 Snowfall in the Dark Alley 雪落暗巷 (The main story is complete) [One-on-one pure romance, not your typical angsty love story] Xie Fusang × Pei Yiliu/Ruan Yue Bottom with a psychological disorder × psychiatrist top Original title: Drowned At three in the morning after the first snow, there were not only plum blossoms ready to bloom, but also a notebook beneath the thin snow, holding memories and love. It snowed for three days and three nights, and the thin layer of snow grew deep. Strange. The notebook had no water on it, so why 14Reads—Score—14d adds
- 98 My Husband Held His Mistress and Humiliated Me with His Guilt 老公抱着小三，用愧疚凌辱我 My Husband Holds His Mistress and Humiliates Me with Guilt 54Reads—Score—14d adds
- 99 In My Past Life, He Skinned My Face; In This One, I Make Their Beds 上一世他剥我的脸，这一世我为他们铺床叠被 In my previous life, he peeled the skin from my face. In this life, I make their beds and fold their quilts. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 100 Stealing the Consort’s Heart: Longing Trapped in the Imperial Palace 谋窃妃心：帝阙锁相思 [Angst-filled romance | devoted to each other | coercive love] Seizing power, stealing her heart. Xiao Jingheng, Prince of Jing'an, hides his ambition and plots at every turn. After disaster strikes the Ye family, Ye Qianluo, daughter of a disgraced official, enters his household under a contract and becomes his prisoner. A dazzling glimpse of her in their youth was the last glimmer of light in his heart, but family feuds and political power struggles ground it to pieces. Schemes and love intert 105Reads—Score—14d adds
