Novels like Those of Us Born in the ’80s
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Those of Us Born in the ’80s, best match first.
- 101 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—14d adds
- 102 Slightly Downcast: Deleting My Love-Brain 轻颓：删除恋爱脑 [Period Novel] [Realistic Fiction] [Women’s Growth] [Family Life] [Literary] Northeast China at the end of the last century. Su Qing (Qing), a 26-year-old cashier at a state-owned enterprise, is burned badly by her obsession with romance: blind dates bring one oddball after another, and her husband cheats on her. Her in-laws find fault with everything she does, the state-owned enterprise undergoes restructuring and offers buyouts of years of service, and she faces constant trouble at work. In th 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 103 Late at Night, I Fell Under His Spell 深夜，对他着了魔 Their late-night story… It’s thought-provoking, and leaves you filled with regret. Was she too devoted, or was he too heartless? What can you even say about love? 212Reads—Score—14d adds
- 104 Simple-Minded Ni 憨妮 Hanni is a woman who seems a little dim-witted to outsiders. She marries three men: the first is an ordinary man, the second a tycoon, and the third a young hoodlum. This is the story of her and the people around her, and how Hanni changes her fate... 77Reads7.0Score—14d adds
- 105 Designing Love: My Dream Guy Insists We Get Married 设计爱情！男神非要跟我结婚 [A designer's workplace romance and daily life + women's workplace story + escaping a small town] [Sweet romance + one-on-one pairing + no angst + no misunderstandings + no golden finger + no face-slapping] [Scheming architectural designer + naive newcomer to the workplace] Architectural designer Lu Yuan is known in the industry as an irresistible dreamboat of a designer. Every project he designs becomes a hit, and people never stop talking about his work. But nobody could have guessed that behi 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 106 Two Good-for-Nothings Embrace 两个废物抱一抱 #Urban Life #Realistic Romance #Bickering Couple #Startup Story #Working Stiffs #Lighthearted Comedy #Heartwarming Healing A middle-aged unemployed programmer and a fresh graduate who can’t find work team up in an urban village to make short videos, saving each other and turning their lives around against the odds. Chen Yiming is 35 and has worked as a programmer for ten years. Then his company “optimized” him right out of a job. The day he walked out of the building carrying a cardboard box was 79Reads—Score—14d adds
- 107 As the Years Go By: My Perfect Life 此去经年：我的圆满人生 Jiang Aixie is deeply content with her life. In her career, she worked in a field she loved, going from an unknown actress to a Best Actress grand-slam winner. She fulfilled her dream and succeeded. In love, although she once stumbled, she never lost the ability to love. She has a husband who loves her as much as she loves him, and that is enough. As for family, she was cherished by her grandparents as a child, and now she has a loving husband and devoted children. She is happy. Her contented li 16Reads—Score—14d adds
- 108 Living Apart 分居 Ji Shu got married and had a child before realizing she'd chosen a man who couldn't shoulder any responsibility. She took her child back to her hometown alone and began living separately from him. She thought returning to the countryside would ease some of the pressure, but she hadn't counted on her mother's constant nagging, her lack of income, and her poor health. One hardship after another became more than she could bear... At the lowest point in her life, she met Fu Yu, the legendary “king o 26Reads—Score—14d adds
- 109 The Hidden Wife 隐妻 [The comic adaptation is now available! Tap “Adaptation Theater” in the lower-right corner of any page of this book to watch instantly. The original novel and short drama each have their own appeal. Share it with your friends!] No rebirth, no transmigration, and no System golden finger, just the true golden years of an entire generation! Having fled an arranged marriage, he joins the tide of migrant workers heading south. In a southern metropolis brimming with both opportunity and challenges, he 790Reads6.2Score10014d adds
- 110 The City’s Masked Man: Go Ahead, I’m Watching You Act 城市假面人，演，我看着你演 An ordinary person acts so convincingly that he could win an Oscar, living behind a mask as marriage, family, and career all deal him blow after blow. Like a cockroach, he is reborn against all odds. See how he copes with the chaos of everyday life and becomes a master of life's many skills! 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 111 Young Master Yan Has His Eye on Another Man’s Wife 严少惦记上了别人家的媳妇 A playboy falls for a timid, long-suffering wife. He lives next door, and after watching her for long enough, he starts getting ideas. This story’s motto: Never let a little drama get in the way of a good show. Yan Hao had been called a scumbag for half his life. But after moving to a small town in the countryside, he compared himself to the husband next door and realized he wasn’t scummy at all. In fact, he even felt a certain masculine superiority. Compared with that guy, Yan Hao was practica 111Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 112 A Beauty Like a Flower, Years Flowing Like Water 如花美眷似水流年 This is the story of Fang Fei’s growth as love and fate intertwine. From the innocence of her first love to complicated emotional entanglements, Fang Fei experiences betrayal, loss, and being reborn. Her relationships with three men reveal the tolerance and devotion love can inspire. In the end, Fang Fei finds herself through love and responsibility, showing that love means far more than romance. 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 113 Our Long River of Years 我们的岁月长河 Our Long River of Years is divided into three parts. Following the ordinary lives of three generations of Zhao Jiafu’s family, railway workers, it spans from the 1950s to the 2020s. It recounts the joys and sorrows, happiness and heartbreak, and everyday troubles experienced by the three generations of the Zhao family and the ordinary people around them over the long river of time. It depicts the turbulent lives of ordinary people as the times change and society develops. Time flows like a river 180Reads—Score—14d adds
- 114 An Ordinary Person's Unordinary Journey Through Life 平凡人不甘平凡的人生路 An ordinary person’s life has its occasional ups and downs, but where does a life without guidance lead? After three years working in a factory, a twist of fate sends him into real estate brokerage! He grows immensely proud after enjoying some of the real estate boom. But after the tide goes out, how will he face the decline and deal with family, love, and friendship? This is your story, and it’s mine too. So I’ve heard... 10Reads—Score—14d adds
- 115 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. 861Reads6.6Score10514d adds
- 116 A Stepfather Is Like a Dog 继父如狗 A love story about a man who gives everything for love. Newly married, he takes a second-hand wife with a son, and from then on, muddles his way into becoming a man treated like a dog. Based on a true story, this book perfectly captures the awkward position of a stepfather, as well as human selfishness and the sorrow of marriage. 49Reads—Score—14d adds
- 117 Divorce: A Battle That Reveals Human Nature 离婚撕开人性的博弈 What is marriage really like? No one can say for sure. It is no longer a matter of whether you love each other, but a battle between love and money. Nor is divorce something you can simply declare with a wave of your hand. Marriage is not just a lovestruck person's complaints or a discarded wife's grievances. Once a marriage turns into a fight, it becomes a brutal clash of human nature. Reality is no fairy tale. The romance of the past eventually gives way to the petty details of everyday life. 6.9kReads9.1Score76214d adds
- 118 What's There to Fear About Divorce at 40? My First Love Has My Back 40岁离婚怕什么，还有初恋兜底 [A levelheaded housewife who knows when to retreat and when to advance + an icy doctor who advances by retreating] [Midlife struggles + parent-child relationships + redemption + mutual healing] Her husband is having an affair with his boss. Her son is a high school senior and has started dating. Zhu Yi, who quit her job three years ago, feels as if her world is collapsing. Then she unexpectedly runs into Yang Yiqing, her first love, whom she had lost touch with years ago. Suddenly, time speeds 111Reads—Score—14d adds
- 119 Women, Houses, and Everything in Between 女人与房子那些事儿 An unremarkable woman stops at nothing, steadily climbing the ranks until she makes a stunning comeback and becomes the president of a real estate company. Her life is full of hardships and almost legendary twists. The novel also reveals many little-known secrets of the real estate industry. 19Reads—Score—14d adds
- 120 A Woman's Perspective 女性视角 Three women make quite a show. Two of them were once best friends, then became rivals in love. To see the world of men clearly, they even join forces once more. Together, the three women see through not only the men’s business dealings, but also the hypocrisy, cunning, and schemes behind them... Once they see the truth, they’ll take back what belongs to them and make those who hurt them pay… When the dust settles, whether they acted out of helplessness or took matters into their own hands, th 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 121 Xing Tianman 星天满 [Mature man and woman / lust before love / reunion after time apart / both clear-eyed] Black-haired, wavy-haired tattoo artist vs. close-cropped director of a jewelry company The first night, she slipped away in secret. The second time they met, she disappeared without a word again. Until they meet once more. He looks at the woman he's longed for day and night and offers his hand. “Hello, I'm Ke Yiming.” She takes his hand. “Hello, I'm Nan Jiawen.” Every time I think of you, a flower blooms. T 292Reads8.7Score10314d adds
- 122 Snow in Winter, Flowers in Spring 冬有雪，春有花 When Nan Xiu was fourteen, her father told her, “Be good, don't cry. Smile. When you do, you look like a little fairy from another world.” When she was twenty, her older brother told her, “Be good, don't cry. Find a good man. He'll take good care of you.” At twenty-two, Nan Xiu rode her little electric scooter back and forth between school and her mentor's shop, smiling sweetly as she called out, “Old Liu, I've finished today's tasks!” At twenty-four, Song Shimo told Nan Xiu, “I'll love you for 120Reads8.4Score—14d adds
- 123 The Insider 内部人士 In the early 21st century, China’s real estate economy was booming. Many ordinary people caught a favorable wave amid the great tides of history and amassed considerable wealth. The protagonist is an average person with no particular gifts, but as he grows, he continually learns from the wisdom of those around him, including some truly remarkable people. Through constant learning and reflection, he eventually develops a unique kind of wisdom and achieves success of his own. It seems as though fa 10Reads—Score—14d adds
- 124 Shenzhen Stories: Sister Ji 深圳往事霁姐 You resent that I was born too soon; I resent that you were born too late. Though we could not live at the same time, we can still share a grave. Mo Chou happens to meet Wu Zhiji, a beautiful, kind-hearted young widow ten years her senior. Was it that love came too early, before she knew how to cherish it, or that by the time she learned to love, they had become strangers? Disclaimer: The locations, people, companies, and events in this book are unrelated to real life! 60Reads6.3Score—14d adds
- 125 Transmigration: I’m Crushing My Scumbag Ex in a Parallel World 穿越：我在平行世界爆虐渣男前夫 (Soul transmigration and a creative premise + healing from childhood family trauma) One morning, Tang Wanwan wakes up and discovers she has transmigrated... The wounds inflicted by your birth family must be healed within that family. Love is a kind of redemption, a light that gathers lost time. Somehow, it was all destined to be. She is financially independent, beautiful, and sophisticated. He is handsome and wickedly charming, but hopelessly addicted to gambling. It was love at first sight. She 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 126 Reality Has Nothing to Do with Ideals 现实与理想无关 Ideals are ideals, and reality is reality. Never confuse the two. The road from reality to ideals is long, so long that most people spend their whole lives without ever reaching the end. There are countless cases of ideals crumbling into reality, so many that every day someone gives up on their dreams and accepts the way things are. If someone is still living in reality while drawing ever closer to their ideals, congratulations. But are you sure that someone will be you? 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 127 On the Brink of Divorce 走在离婚的边缘 A friendly reminder: This is a work of realist fiction, and many readers may recognize people they know in it. Please enjoy the story, but don’t assume it’s about you! People say marriage is the grave of love, yet so many still rush toward it. The paths love can take are painfully few: either you part ways and become strangers, or you enter the marital home and stay together for life. When passion fades and love turns into familial affection, marriage becomes the daily routine of meals and chore 101Reads—Score—14d adds
- 128 A Single Mother’s Road to Redemption 一个单亲妈妈的救赎之路 I was a woman left single, and by the time I reached middle age, becoming a single mother was bound to turn my life upside down. At the halfway point of life, I’ve been through everything you can imagine, and even things you can’t. So what? The middle of life is a battlefield, and I am a shield, guarding a corner of tenderness amid the chaos. Halfway through life, I’ll be my own rock, pressing forward through disorder, gentle yet strong. Through half a lifetime of storms, I give it everything. A 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 129 Guangzhou Almost Got Snow 广州差点飘雪 A hidden heiress is cheated on by a gold-digging man who plans to leave her with nothing, only for her to give him a brutal face-slapping in return... My new work is out! Come read it on Tomato Novel. I hope you enjoy it. Your support inspires me to write, and I’ll do my best to tell every story well! —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 130 The Boy from a Remote Mountain Village I Helped Twenty Years Ago Wants to Marry Me 二十年前救助的偏远山区小男孩，要和我结婚 The little boy I helped in a remote mountain village twenty years ago wants to marry me 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 131 An Ill-Matched Marriage 不般配的婚姻 After Cheng Ruojia, a small-town girl, married her boss, Tang Yixuan, she spent the next ten years as a housewife, looking after Tang Yixuan and their daughter, Tang Qi. But as Tang Yixuan's business grew and his handsome looks drew attention, a marital crisis crept closer and closer... 628Reads5.8Score—14d adds
- 132 Two Abnormal Humans and a Motorcycle 两个非正常人类与摩托车 Love that defies social norms has often been seen as a symbol of courage and freedom, admired and celebrated. This is the one kind of love people will always despise. This is not a novel, just a story from real life. There are no thrills, no climaxes, no pacing, only despair and oppression. It might be of some small help to people who truly love motorcycles, but be prepared to be mocked. This story has an unconventional outlook on life, values, and the world, and portrays a world of abnormal peo 2.2kReads—Score38114d adds
- 133 A Little Bit of a Crush 有一点心动 [Marriage Before Love + One-on-One Romance + Sweet Romance + Modern Romance] Overbearing CEO vs. sweet, innocent college student Also known as The Blush-Worthy Everyday Life of Marrying a Rich Husband Song Chiqian: “Some things in this world are hard to explain. Like meeting you. It wasn’t love at first sight, or falling for you the second time around. I just fell in love with you!” Xu Miao: “Little by little, I found myself falling for you. I don’t know whether to feel sad or happy.” Only later 350Reads6.5Score—14d adds
- 134 The Secrets of My Wife: The Truth Behind the Phone Calls 妻子隐秘：电话背后的真相 Liang Xiaojun had always worked for his father-in-law. One day, after returning home from the construction site, he heard his daughter, who was gaming, say she’d received a strange blackmail call. After looking into it, he uncovered a huge secret about his wife. Faced with a cruel reality, what choice should he make? 676Reads6.8Score10014d adds
- 135 If Only You'd Look at Me a Little More 如果你能多看我一眼 Based on the author's real-life experiences. Any similarities are purely plagiarism. Can childhood sweethearts really lose out to someone who appears by fate? He came riding a bamboo hobbyhorse, circling the bed and playing with green plums. The year Lin Xi met He Shi, she was ten years old, an arrogant little top student. One radiant glance from her, and all the world's beauty faded to dust. The year Lin Xi met Yu Chao, she was eighteen, a loser who had failed the college entrance exam. He was 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 136 The One on the Other Side 伊人一方 “Mr. Lu, when did you decide you wanted to marry me?” “The moment I first saw you.” “Are you really that casual about marriage?” “I’ve always trusted my own judgment. Just like in business, I’ve never made a wrong call.” “So to you, I’m just a business deal?” “No. To be precise, I signed a lifetime contract for this deal, and I was always destined to be the one who lost.” “Then why didn’t you cut your losses in time?” “...” Because I love you, and I’m willing to do this. 11Reads—Score—14d adds
- 137 The One Who Blows Away the Ashes 吹灰的人 “I slept with twenty-one men before I had enough money to spend without worrying.” At two in the morning, Lin Xiao, a girl who had just lost her job, came across this post. The poster’s profile picture was exactly the same as that of the person she was dating online. She thought it was a coincidence. Then she discovered that a woman named Yu Fei seemed to know all her secrets, including ones she didn’t even know herself. Yu Fei said, “You’ll walk the same road I did. But I came back so you wo 80Reads—Score13514d adds
- 138 Little Leopard 小豹子 After her grandparents, who had raised her, passed away, the abandoned Situ Lingzhi was left with no one to rely on. Taking the Medical Prescriptions of the Situ Family that her grandfather had left behind, she went to America to find his relatives. Six years later, the first major event that awaited Situ Lingzhi, now a medical doctor returning home, was her classmate Dongfang Xiangrui trying to force her into marriage. The Dongfang family had once been a leading force in Yunhai City's business 304Reads8.6Score10114d adds
- 139 The No-Drama Casebook 不抓马风云事件簿 A healing little ray of sunshine and a devoted, faithful boyfriend: twenty years of ups and downs, the secretly affectionate couple! The woman isn’t called Keyun or Xiyun. Her name is Tan Yun. The man isn’t called Lifeng or Mufeng. His name is Lu Feng. There’s no earth-shattering first meeting, no all-powerful golden finger, and no melodramatic, messy entanglements, just twenty years of enduring devotion and favor. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 140 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
- 141 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
- 142 Beneath the Lantern, I Met the Bright Moon 伏灯遇皎月 (Marriage first, love later + winning her back + happy ending, a refined, aloof neurologist × a levelheaded, independent bank teller) Before meeting Shen Jinwei, Guan Qiaoyi spent every day wondering when she could quit her job. After meeting him, she was dazzled by his good looks and impulsively married him on the spot. “Hi. Let's get married.” After the wedding, her husband was gentle and considerate, emotionally steady, and there were no complicated in-law problems. Their married life was har 54Reads6.0Score—14d adds
- 143 The College Loser's Comeback 大学校渣逆袭记 Poor young Gao Xiaojian secretly loves Zhao Lusi, the daughter of the richest man in the country. At university, a moment of lust leads him to make a mistake, and he suffers relentless bullying from his wealthy classmates before fighting back. By sheer coincidence, he becomes the son-in-law handpicked by the richest man and unexpectedly inherits his fortune. He navigates the ups and downs of the business world and the tangled love and hatred of wealthy heiresses like Feng Yuanyuan, eventually ri —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 144 My Angel Investor Is My Adorable Husband 天使投资人是我的小娇夫 Told from the heroine's perspective, this story follows her journey from an innocent, inexperienced newcomer to the working world to a successful professional woman. Fang Yuwei and the hero, Lin Peifeng, meet on campus. He falls for her at first sight and takes care of her and stays by her side, but Lin Peifeng's identity is not so simple. As the heroine makes her way through the workplace, she encounters all kinds of unwritten rules, both obvious and hidden. She changes jobs several times and m 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 145 The End of Ordinary 平凡的尽头 The story began in 2019. It was a turbulent time, and I stopped writing after a hasty 50,000 words. Then, in May 2020, I finished it. At 250,000 words, it is too short to cover all the joys and sorrows of this bustling world through the changing years. It tells only of several years spent wandering through life. The story is based entirely on real events. Freedom, marriage, career, money, family, friendship. As someone born in the 1990s, I have always questioned the world. I hoped to find answer 36Reads—Score—14d adds
- 146 Her Secret Thoughts: A Young Man’s Hidden Diary in a Small Village 致她的心事：小村青年的隐秘日记 No formulaic plot | Not a wish-fulfillment novel | Realistic fiction | Zhou Zhiqiang grows up amid poverty and chaos in her birth family, with her father instilling in her the survival rule that “you have to please people to survive.” She gets into college and lands a job at a bank. A well-off man, Ke Qingyan, pursues her, but as the truth about her family comes out, she gradually loses her self-respect and her relationship. Later, burdened with debt, she returns to her hometown and, under he 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 147 A Season of Green, with Drizzling Rain 见青时节疏雨绵绵 The first time Guo Shuyu, the daughter of a landlord, saw Xu Jianqing, the beggar, he was beating his wife, a hulking man like a black bear. Guo Shuyu thought any man would be better than that black bear. Better to be anyone’s wife than Xu Jianqing’s. How pitiful to be scolded and beaten every day. But life is full of surprises, and the Matchmaker in the Moon muddles the red threads. Some inexplicable stroke of bad luck sent everything awry. Like a thunderclap from a clear sky, Guo Shuyu married 49Reads—Score—14d adds
- 148 Two Generations of Mothers-in-Law and Daughters-in-Law: Love and Hate in a Chinese Family 两代婆媳：中式家庭的爱恨情长 Three women, two generations of mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. The post-1995 generation faces off against the post-1960 generation. Their conflict is both a clash of lifestyles and a collision of beliefs, bringing more than half a century of women’s awakening into sharp focus. Women born in the 1930s are stubbornly set in their ways; those born in the 1960s are half-awake and half-entrenched; while the post-1995 generation wholeheartedly embraces pleasure, putting themselves entirely above 1.2kReads9.6Score16514d adds
- 149 A Middle-Aged Man's Redemption: The Phoenix Turns Toward the Sun 中年男人的自我救赎：凤自向阳 A man born in the 1980s, now middle-aged, who spent more than twenty years working as a clothing pattern maker. For the first half of his life, he lived trapped in self-doubt and inner turmoil, held back by all kinds of hang-ups about his name, appearance, education, marriage, and children. At middle age, he finally learned to make peace with his past self, slowly tear down the high walls around his heart, and let himself off the hook. This book records the pitfalls I've fallen into, the grie 9Reads—Score—14d adds
- 150 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
