Novels like Life Is Like a Dream, So How Much Time Do We Have for Joy?
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Life Is Like a Dream, So How Much Time Do We Have for Joy?, best match first.
- 1 Conquering Another World With a Computer 带着电脑横扫异界 “What? You have an incredible memory?” Try taking photos and videos. You’ll never forget a thing, and you can recite it backward! “What? You say only dragons can use Dragon Tongue magic?” Try copying it. You’ll master it in fifteen minutes, leaving even prodigies far behind. “What? You’re a renowned sage and master teacher, with gifted students everywhere?” Try pasting. Turn a good-for-nothing into a prodigy in seconds, and fill the world with your students. “You’re a master of magic and sorcery 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 2 Time Management Expert 时间管理砖家 This book aims to help everyone learn how to overcome anxiety and organize their lives, so they can live with ease and happiness. Who, seeing the woman in this book living such a peaceful, happy life, would imagine how frantic and chaotic things once were for her? And who would guess that even as she helped so many people manage their time and find happiness, she still had plenty of regrets? 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 3 After Discovering the Secret to Making Money, I Reached the Pinnacle of Life 喜得生财之道后我走上人生巅峰 [Feel-Good, Superpowers, Scummy Male Lead, Pure-Hearted Female Lead, Money Talks, Urban, Infinite Flow, Play the Pig to Eat the Tiger…] Song Xiaoqiang is an ordinary wage earner. He has spent years trying to make it in the big city, yet still has nothing to show for it. Now, facing a major life decision, he has no choice but to break up with the girlfriend who has been by his side for three years. And then, on the way to pack his things and move out of his rented apartment, an extraordinary 15Reads—Score—14d adds
- 4 Apocalypse Fairy Tale: Tsundere Kitty Vs. Loyal Dog 末世童话：傲娇喵VS忠诚旺 [Female elf + male beast demon + cultivation in a world created from scratch + no cliches + no invincible protagonist + no System + no brainless characters + not a wish-fulfillment novel + no atheism...] An old folk saying goes: a chicken becomes a spirit after six years, a dog after eight, and a cat after ten. Can animals really no longer become spirits after the founding of the nation?! In the apocalypse: a Singles’ Day shopper reborn into the body of a cat who is almost ready to become a spir 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 5 Blue Is Still Romantic 蓝色依然浪漫 [Pilot & florist * a love all their own * simple happiness] After more than thirty years alone, the pilot is lucky that the Matchmaker has taken notice and brought new color to his life. Maybe the right person takes a long time to arrive, but that's all right. If they do come, they're worth waiting for. The florist has been hurt by love and no longer wants to trust it easily. It takes time for her to realize that matters of the heart need just the right cure before they can heal. You never need —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 6 Fengdu Affairs Office 酆都事务所 [First-person manhunt and mystery-solving + no System + no transmigration + traditional supernatural fantasy] The King of Hell, ruler of the Fifth Hall of the underworld, opened an agency in the human world to hunt down evil ghosts, wicked beasts, and demons that had escaped into the land of the living. My name is Fu Ming, an orphan born with the Five Deficiencies and Three Shortcomings. By a twist of fate, I interviewed at a company called the Fengdu Agency. Who would have thought that I would 4Reads8.2Score—14d adds
- 7 My Deskmate Is the One I Adore 同桌是白月光 Mutual Secret Crushes + Reunion After Years Apart + Both Leads Are Chaste A year after graduation, novelist Liang Jiawan decided to take the civil service exam so she wouldn’t lose touch with society and could have a stable job. To improve her chances, she signed up for a civil service prep course. On her first day, she was stunned: her deskmate was Gu Mingchang, who had sat beside her in high school. The two had been on the verge of something back then. If she hadn’t turned down his confession, 12Reads—Score—14d adds
- 8 From South to North 南来，北往 Welcome, everyone! This is a coming-of-age story about a woman who travels back and forth from north to south and south to north several times. She has a wonderful son and daughter, and the book is full of practical parenting tips. Getting lost in a book and being a happy bookworm is the author’s lifelong passion. I hope you feel the same! May you find joy and inspiration in these pages. 6Reads—Score—14d adds
- 9 Sing Out for Youth 唱响青春 College is an important milestone in our lives, and those years can be truly wonderful. Everyone explores, searches, moves forward, perseveres, and waits for something in their own way. We all remember our college days differently, with our own distinct feelings and experiences. It was a time when we still wrote letters, listened to portable music players, and watched movies on discs, before mobile phones were everywhere. When those sealed-away years are reopened and brought back to life, when t 1Reads—Score114d adds
- 10 They All Call Me a Fool 他们都叫我傻子 [Childhood, school, love, memories, partings and deaths, reflections on life] When I was young, I thought that if I stuck with something, I could surely make it happen. Only later did I understand that everything ultimately comes down to fate. When Cao Lina and I hooked pinkies and made our promise, I was sure I could keep it. In the end, though, nothing went as I had hoped. When Han Jiayi told me, “I’ll wait for you at university,” all that awaited us in the end was a curtain call and a crowd d 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 11 What Happened After I Won Five Million! 当我中了五百万之后！ If you won five million in the lottery, what would you do? Buy a car and a house, or put the money in the bank and live off the interest? If you had enough money to be financially independent, what would you do? Pursue your dreams, or lie flat and give up? After winning five million, I might do much the same as many other people, but my plans for the money would also differ from what most people would expect. To find out how, why not look for the answer in this book? See the changing fortunes an 714Reads6.3Score—14d adds
- 12 Liniang and Liusheng 丽娘与柳生 This is my second book on Tomato Novel, written for a classical literature event. It's about Du Liniang, who dares to love and hate, and Liu Mengmei, who wins both fame and the woman he loves. It's about a muddleheaded father who puts state affairs first, and a timid mother constrained by traditional ethics. It's about a just and compassionate judge of the underworld, and a peony flower goddess overflowing with love. As time and space fold in on themselves, as life and death alternate, Liniang a 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 13 Lin Sanshao's Third Book 林三少的第3本书 A new work is out! You can read my stories on Tomato Novel. I hope you enjoy them. Your support motivates me to write, and I'll do my best to tell every story well! 1Reads8.2Score—14d adds
- 14 N Dream: A Fateful Encounter with Light, Blood, and the Divine N梦奇缘之亦光亦皿亦神明 The emotional journey from a college student on the verge of graduation to a sophisticated city woman, with the emotional side stories of her close-knit group of girlfriends gradually unfolding... From the start, it seems like an ordinary summer vacation is just around the corner... Shen Ying finds herself falling for one male guest after another: number one, number two, number three, and number four. Is it a crush? The beginning of something? Love at first sight? Or just the prologue? Will it a —Reads8.3Score—14d adds
- 15 The VIP Heroine’s Soap Opera Life VIP女主的狗血日常 Gou Xue was born with yin-yang eyes and has been able to see what others can't since she was little. She often suffers from sleep paralysis... Our hardworking heroine, who was constantly on the front lines of the supernatural and never dated once in school, is forced to face blind dates and having children after a bolt from the blue. By a twist of fate, she meets Dai Richang, a yin-yang feng shui master... After a chance encounter with the Matchmaking Boy at the Moon God Shrine, she unexpectedly 11Reads—Score114d adds
- 16 The Nameless Little Daoist 无名小道 [Not a self-sacrificing saint + Not a mindless power fantasy + Laid-back cultivation] After more than a decade of cultivating in the mountains, Lu Li discovers that he is terminally ill and has little time left. His master sends him down the mountain to find the legendary immortals and seek a cure. He travels across famous mountains and great rivers, encounters monsters and ghosts, and experiences the customs and ways of the world. In the end, Lu Li discovers that there are no immortals in this 96Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 17 The Story of Fei Xin’s Daughter 飞新的女传 [Marriage + Domestic Abuse + Divorce + Blind Date + Online Romance + Finding True Love + Sweet Romance + Silent Treatment] At twenty, Fei Xin was set up by her parents, went on a blind date, got married, suffered domestic abuse, and divorced. At twenty-three, she met an online boyfriend five years younger than her. They got married and had a child! Married Life + Sweet Romance + Silent Treatment —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 18 Only After We Parted Did I Realize I Loved You 别后方知爱上 [Workplace Romance + Golf] Jiang Mo has no idea that Yang Zichen has been secretly in love with her for eight years. Time passes, and when they meet again, she is still herself, yet no longer the person she used to be. Can fate’s strange twists give them another chance to start over? In the days that follow, he winds around her like a vine, quietly entwining himself with her life. But she has a solemn vow to protect her: handsome men are absolutely off-limits! And yet... P.S. A heartwarming sto 5Reads—Score—14d adds
- 19 The Changing Years of Common Folk Beneath Cooking Smoke and Bamboo Hats 炊烟笠民之沧桑岁月 A rare work of realist literature online, this is a bleak, solitary tale set in modern times. Through the eyes of ordinary people, it reveals human nature and explains the roots of the decline of modern history. Its intellectual depth and artistic merit are nothing short of classic. The book chronicles the joys and sorrows of ordinary people, praising those who are kind, loyal, principled, and never sycophantic, while condemning those in fine clothes who are depraved, greedy, immoral, and unwil 25Reads—Score—14d adds
- 20 The City of Woven Sand 织沙之城 [The first online novel set in Nansha District, Guangzhou, the heart of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. A 2023 key project supported by the China Writers Association] A heroine’s coming-of-age story + the gentle flow of everyday life + women’s entrepreneurship What is home? What does one’s hometown mean? As the Pearl River rushes toward the sea, Mai Jiaying, a post-90s small-town exam ace, grows tired of her salt-scented, out-of-the-way hometown. All she wants is to fly to the ca 6Reads—Score—14d adds
- 21 An Old Salty Fish 一条老咸鱼 Lin Xiaohui is an older single woman. At first, she works as a PE teacher at a private school in a small county town in her hometown, earning a modest salary. After passing the civil service exam, she switches into clapback mode: We were all people for the first time, so why should I have to put up with you? The story starts at a leisurely pace and focuses on everyday life. Later, it centers on leveling up as she tackles challenges in the workplace! 159Reads6.8Score—14d adds
- 22 The Third Shadow of Bingwu Alley 丙午巷的第三个影子 The Third Shadow in Bingwu Alley 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 23 Let's Not Talk About Love 不谈爱情 Don't Talk About Love is a purely fictional serialized novel. The novel tells of the inner torment of Zhao Xiaosong, a middle-aged man who works at Shenfeng Tire Factory and suffers from cerebral atrophy. It portrays his resentment, anxiety, loneliness, helplessness, despair, selfishness, longing, and, finally, his struggle... The story begins in the 1990s. Zhao Xiaosong, a country bumpkin from that era, is lucky enough to become a tire-molding worker at Shenfeng Tire Factory in Jiaoshi. Back 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 24 Village Chief, Don't Mess with Me 村长，别来惹我 Liang Yuzhen is a widow in the village, beautiful and kindhearted. The village chief is a local bully, but seeing that Liang Yuzhen has no man to rely on, he often stops by to help her with whatever he can, putting on a show of being a good Samaritan. 94Reads7.1Score—14d adds
- 25 I'll Wait for You in Gusu City 我在姑苏城里等你 After failing the college entrance exams, I left home alone and came to Suzhou, where I met two girls who would shape my whole life... One was as passionate as fire, the other as gentle as jade... At eighteen, I didn't understand what love was... A cigarette, a glass of wine, and so much sorrow in the city of Gusu... Note: This isn't a wish-fulfillment novel, and it takes its time getting going. If you enjoy plot-driven stories, you can start at Chapter 39. Thank you! 2kReads—Score19514d adds
- 26 Born Weak 天生弱者 Most people admire the strong, but they choose to admire the weak! At first, the distance between people is vast, so vast that we cannot see each other for who we truly are. In the end, the distance between people is small, so small that we can touch the kindred core within one another. 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 27 I Decide What Happens at My Own Funeral 我的葬礼我说了算 I died. As I watched other people hold my funeral, I thought it was terribly unsatisfactory. I decided to hold my funeral my way. It should be my funeral, so I should get to call the shots. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 28 Me, So Ordinary 我，如此普通 I was born ordinary, with an average appearance and an unremarkable family. I have no legendary life filled with dramatic twists, nor any grand, stirring story to tell. Most people in this world are ordinary, living out their days in obscurity. I am no different. I cannot write earth-shattering plots or create dazzling protagonists. I write only of everyday life, recording the meals and seasons of ordinary people, their confusion and struggles, their helplessness and compromises. No filters, 12Reads—Score—14d adds
- 29 Stories from the Ground Up: Wellness, Livelihoods, and Human Nature at a Foot Spa 脚底下的故事——足疗店里养生、饭碗与人心 Stories Beneath Your Feet: Wellness, Livelihoods, and Human Nature at a Foot Massage Shop 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 30 The Door to Vault Three 三号库的门 The Door to Storage Room Three 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 31 Every Word Reveals Prajna 字字见般若 He had studied Buddhism for twenty years, recited countless sutras, paid his respects to many masters, and completed all kinds of religious practices. His mind was calmer than before, but the suffering remained. When a friend came to pour out her troubles, he sat across from her, thought for a long time, and couldn't find anything to say. She had been a university lecturer and run a business. She had made money and lost it. Eventually, she realized that the hardest thing wasn't making or losing 360Reads9.2Score22414d adds
- 32 Peeping: The Butterfly Effect 偷窥之蝴蝶效应 The male lead is a complete loser. By chance, he discovers a female colleague's secret, turning his work and personal life upside down. Two mature adults with sharp minds and social skills engage in an intense game of push and pull. Love begins for reasons unknown and grows deeper with every passing day: they love and are loved, hurt and are hurt, grow through their pain, then fade from one another's memories. This is also the story of an ordinary worker's growth. 578Reads6.7Score—14d adds
- 33 My Village, My River 我的村庄，我的河 [Contemporary Fiction + Rural Literature + Rural Revitalization + Great for Middle-Aged and Older Readers] Zhang Banshao, a poor student, is always unlucky in love. After saving Wang Xiaohui by chance, he falls head over heels for her. Armed with kindness and integrity, he makes an incredible comeback. Seeing his hometown full of elderly people left behind, he feels a stir in his heart. He returns to the village to become its chief and lead the rural revitalization effort. Together, they transfo 50Reads8.3Score714d adds
- 34 Wangcai the Golden Retriever Says: Don't Be Afraid, I'll Stay by Your Side 金毛狗旺财说：别怕，我守着你 The Golden Retriever Wangcai Says: Don't Be Afraid, I'll Stay by Your Side —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 35 Stories from the Construction Site 工地上的那些事儿 [No System, entirely hand-written. Men and women on a construction site, struggling to survive in the workplace.] They say construction sites are chaotic, women are scarce, and beautiful women are even rarer. After graduating from college, I started working at a construction site. On my very first day, I met Sister Xiaoya, who was already married, and accidentally offended the site boss. It turned out that the construction site held more than just men and women. There were also stories few peopl 10.9kReads7.6Score81814d adds
- 36 Breaking Free 逃离束缚 Su Yu and Tang Yilan met on a blind date arranged by their university professor. After spending some time together, they both decided they liked each other, so they went to meet each other’s parents. At first, everything seemed to go smoothly, but after they got married, they argued over whether to rent a place of their own. Su Yu also has an older brother, Su Lun, who has been married to Zhao Yanan for years, but still has no children of his own. After finally getting married, Tang Yilan reali 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 37 The Years of Growing Up 成长的岁月 Pingping was born in the mid-1960s and grew up in a small town in Jiangnan. Her parents raised five children, and Pingping was the fourth. Born during the Cultural Revolution, Pingping witnessed the country rise from poverty and backwardness to prosperity and strength. Through her own hard work, she grew alongside the times. 27Reads—Score—14d adds
- 38 Marriage Before Love: Mr. Fu’s Beloved 先婚后爱：付先生的掌心宠 Because of her family background, Xiang Zhaozhao had always been determined never to marry. That same family background left her with no choice but to compromise and go on a blind date with Fu Shiyu. Xiang Zhaozhao thought their marriage would be nothing more than two people sharing a life. She never imagined it would turn out so blissful and sweet! A love story about a first-generation entrepreneur and a woman marrying later in life! 983Reads8.7Score11914d adds
- 39 A Heart Unwilling to Give In 不甘的心 Some say that when God created humanity, He split each person in two: one half stayed in the mortal world, while the other was kept for Himself. Each was left to search among the crowds for the missing half of their own self. When faced with choices in an uncertain world, we always do everything we can to save the heart that refuses to give in. At the summit, we long to become wholly ourselves, perfectly united and standing tall amid the mundane realities of life. That defiant heart cries out: G 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 40 I Use Chinese Taoist Scriptures to Suppress Everything 我靠华夏道藏镇压一切 Zhang Fan transmigrates into a parallel world where spiritual energy has only just begun to revive. Here, strange phenomena run rampant and haunted tombs emerge, but unfortunately... orthodox Chinese Daoist culture has suffered a severe break in its transmission! The elite agents of the National Bureau Nine use a damaged Han-dynasty “Celestial General’s Ruler” as a blunt weapon, swinging it around at random. They practice broken breathing techniques until they suffer cultivation deviation. Faced 3kReads—Score27014d adds
- 41 The Distance of Love Is Just Right 爱的距离刚刚好 Yu Kai saw the morning light streaming through the skylight fall across Qi Ji's face. Her eyes lowered slightly, and her long lashes veiled them like a mist. Her smooth forehead, straight, graceful nose, and faintly upturned lips formed a delicate, alluring profile in the sunlight. With her gaze lowered yet oblivious to everyone around her, she walked briskly past Yu Kai toward the South District office, her steps light but purposeful. A breeze followed in her wake, lifting her shoulder-length s 15Reads8.2Score—14d adds
- 42 Strange Tales from Western Hunan 西湘散异 Historical fantasy: When things are hard to speak of, let strange tales record them; when people are not of our kind, seek out the spirits anew. To outsiders, the most mysterious thing about Xixiang is surely corpse-driving. But beyond that, there are also uncanny tales and legends about praying for rain, Zhuyou rituals, dragons and snakes, mirrors, and more. Even carpenters who make coffins can determine life and death with a single swing of their axes. Through these stories, Chen Jun discovere 10Reads8.3Score—14d adds
- 43 A Flower in the Dust, Blooming Toward the Sun 尘埃里的花，向阳而生 This story follows Shi Xiaoying, beginning at eighteen when she elopes for love. It traces her marriage through sweetness, betrayal, and endurance, culminating in her awakening. Woven through the story are her children’s perspectives and the kindness of those who watch from the sidelines. It portrays a woman struggling between betrayal and perseverance before finally breaking free and embracing a new life. Exploring responsibility and self-worth in love and marriage, it reveals the resilience th 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 44 The Bill for Time 时间的帐单 Set in a modern city, this story focuses on the clashes and eventual reconciliation between two generations of the Jiang family over their views on love and marriage, painting a realistic picture of contemporary society: elders rush their children into romance and marriage, while the younger generation prefers to take things slowly. The two generations struggle with love, marriage, and life choices, then look back on their lives, ultimately finding acceptance and insight in middle age. Everyone —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 45 A Heron in the Mist 一鹭尘烟 [Urban + City Life + Workplace + One Female Lead + Romantic Tension + Domineering Female CEO + Poor Nobody's Rise to Success + No System + Xiamen Attractions and Food + Both Leads Are Each Other's First] Zhao Tianyi was born destined to be a poor nobody. He drifts aimlessly through the workplace and mingles with countless women, all in the hope of finding a beauty to fulfill his lifelong dream... Why has Lin Linglin, a stunning and icy-cold female CEO, fallen hopelessly in love? —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 46 Unraveling the Ways of Human Relationships 揭秘人情世故 Everything in this book is fictional and does not represent reality. This book examines the essence of human relationships and social dealings, revealing the more hidden dimensions of power struggles in interpersonal relationships. When primordial chaos first opened, human relations began. Through interaction, history unfolded; through social ties, the world took shape. In the subtle and shadowy corners of today's world, hidden dragons conceal their scales and white tigers hide their claws. Only 26Reads—Score—14d adds
- 47 Just a Marriage 婚姻而已 Entering marriage takes courage; making it work takes wisdom. This story follows the different experiences and futures of the three Yang sisters in their marriages, and how they come to their senses and grow with the help of Lin Zimo, their sister-in-law from their maiden home. 878Reads6.6Score11014d adds
- 48 Adrift in a Sea of Debt 债海沉浮 The pressure of credit card payments, calls from bank debt collectors, relentless harassment over online loans, and reproaches and complaints from his wife and friends weigh on him like a boulder on his chest. Every breath brings pain. He works day and night, yet still cannot fill the bottomless pit of debt. For him, life has become an endless struggle of helplessness. Every time hope flickers to life, reality cruelly snuffs it out. Even his once-beautiful, virtuous wife gets into someone else's 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 49 Big City, Little Spring 大城小春 [Marriage and Romance + Food + A Love Meant to Be] A new novel by the author of A Spring Deep in Bianjing: a Shanghai love story about mature men and women, and the married lives of people who love good food. A beloved novel that brings together a portrait of urban relationships, a story of women's growth, and a map of Shanghai's culinary scene! The clear-headed, independent foodie Tang Fang x the genius architect Chen Yisheng. From clashing at every turn to unwavering devotion, we are soulmates 2kReads9.5Score27514d adds
- 50 The Neighbors on Either Side of Xingyao 星遥的左右隔壁 Shen Song Xingyao is a girl whose name carries the story of her parents' unusual relationship. She grew up in a unique family arrangement, with her parents living in apartments next door to each other. Her father, Shen Yizhou, is a carefree, laid-back editor, while her mother, Song Qingru, is a meticulous, rational accountant. They never had a marriage in the traditional sense, yet through an unspoken understanding few outsiders could comprehend, they raised their daughter together. From her inn 2Reads—Score—14d adds
