Novels like Giving Up on Someone You Love
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Giving Up on Someone You Love, best match first.
- 101 Say Your Name Again 再念一遍你的名字 Midsummer, cicadas singing, and we met. “Xu Xiaomo, if you're cold, you should've brought a scarf.” Lu Jinan patted her head and wrapped his scarf around her. “Silly.” “Xu Xiaomo, come ask me if you don't understand something.” “Xu Xiaomo, if everyone else gets one, I'll buy you two.” “Xu Xiaomo, you're wonderful.” “Xu Xiaomo, Xu Xiaomo...” Later on, lots of people liked to call Xu Mo “Xu Xiaomo.” But she could never again hear the boy she loved most calling her that. Lu Jinan, the wind is r 105Reads8.5Score—14d adds
- 102 One Last Rainfall Before We Part 最后一阵诉别雨 [Mutual pining | A little campus romance | Short BE | Male lead dies, female lead finds peace] The sky waits for the rain, and I wait for you. Song Ting'an never got to see his rain. From that song by Jay Chou, with lyrics by Vincent Fang. “The sky waits for the rain, and I wait for you.” He listened to it again and again. Song Tianqing, the character in Song Ting'an's book, got to meet his Yue Yuyu. But Song Ting'an never got to meet his Li Yanyu. His chance of survival was only twenty perc 377Reads8.0Score11914d adds
- 103 A Love Letter in the Shadows 影子情书 When we were young, most of us probably had a crush on someone. We knew his back, his profile, even his voice better than we knew his face. The girl he loved remained forever seventeen, while she quietly stayed by his side for many years. Then she received his wedding invitation, and the bride at the wedding looked just like someone. Her secret love began in silence and ended in silence. He never knew she had loved him year after year. 134Reads—Score—14d adds
- 104 Evening Primrose and Daisies 月见草和小雏菊 Years later, someone asked Xie Yu'en, “Dance or Jiang Yan, which would you choose?” Xie Yu'en tightened her grip on the cup, her expression serious. After a moment's thought, she replied, “Both.” Years later, someone asked Jiang Yan, “What does it feel like to finally bring a five-year secret crush into the open?” Jiang Yan curled his lips and gave a scornful laugh before correcting them. “Six years.” [Considerate, warm, tsundere puppy-like boy × gentle, adorable dancer] [Mutual devotion, mutual 9Reads6.2Score—14d adds
- 105 The Secret Crush No One Knows About 暗恋这件不为人知的秘密 In her third year of middle school, Yu Wan fell in love with someone. He had pale eyes that always seemed to hold laughter, yet somehow left people feeling inexplicably sad. Yu Wan liked him year after year, until the boy fell for a girl. Beneath a sky full of fireworks, she saw him smiling dazzlingly at the person beside him. “From the moment we met, you became the star that never sets, day or night.” But that star had never belonged to her. Yu Wan never imagined that one drunken night would br 654Reads8.7Score11814d adds
- 106 You, or Someone Like You 你或像你的人 Be. Documentary filmmaker × undercover police officer Xu Yuan had an accident while filming a documentary and woke up with amnesia. After that, she often dreamed of a mountain road she could never find her way off. A year later, Xu Yuan ran into her high school classmate, Zhou Yiran. She wanted to get closer to him because the scent of mint and orange he carried had appeared in her dreams countless times. Zhou Yiran had been secretly in love with Xu Yuan for nine years. At last, his wish came t 78Reads8.3Score—14d adds
- 107 Summer of He 何夏 A short story about the bittersweet taste of young love. Xia Ge never knew what it felt like to have a crush until she met He Yi. Then she discovered that love could be so unreasonable. Every accidental glance was proof that Xia Ge’s heart was fluttering. She gave him a love poem made from foxtail grass. I’m sorry. I fell for you in secret without asking your permission. Xia Ge had seen him give roses to another girl. She had also seen him kiss a girl beneath an umbrella on a night of pouri 230Reads8.4Score—14d adds
- 108 A Secret Crush, a Solitary Performance With No Ending 暗恋这场没有结局的独角戏 [Secret love with a tragic ending] [Insecure male lead] In their second year of high school, when Xu Yuanzhou’s life was at its darkest, An Yining was like a ray of light, bringing a little brightness to his gloomy world. From then on, loving An Yining became Xu Yuanzhou’s biggest secret. As insecure as Xu Yuanzhou was, perhaps the craziest thing he did in his entire youth was fight with his deskmate for An Yining’s sake, only for his classmates to mistakenly think he liked another girl. The rum 105Reads—Score—14d adds
- 109 I’ve Never Forgotten Our Love 恋恋不曾忘 [Sweet campus romance + modern-day angst] Petite girl Li Hui has a crush on handsome campus heartthrob Lin Xun. While pursuing him, she accidentally ends up working two jobs at once. During college, the two share one heart-fluttering moment after another. Just as they are about to get together, Lin Xun suddenly announces his relationship on social media, and they go their separate ways. This unrequited love began in summer and ended in winter. Years later, after facing setback after setback, a 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 110 The Rainy Season Is a Secret Signal 雨季是潮湿的暗号 [Mutual first love | Campus | Bad ending] “I hope your wish comes true, that everything in the world becomes the backdrop to your life. May you go anywhere you want and become the bravest person of all.” “Qi means a prayer, and Zhao means light. It’s a beautiful name.” The rainy season at seventeen is long enough to leave an indelible mark. The boy who leapt down carried mud all over him, but angels would catch them and cleanse their purest souls. “Zhaoqi, you idiot.” “I love you.” “May the ligh 31Reads—Score—14d adds
- 111 Youth Is a Grand Illusion 青春是一场盛大的幻梦 Youth is a magnificent dream. Those first meetings, growing closer, and keeping one another company shimmered like stars, drawing us into the dream called youth. Looking back, the once-burning promises have scattered on the wind, and those deep, tender feelings have become regrets too painful to touch. On quiet nights, when memories drift through our minds like smoke, we may smile or we may cry, because that was our youth, true and unvarnished. [A Dream of Youth: My Twelve Years with Him] Cheng 41Reads—Score—14d adds
- 112 You Won’t Remember Me 你不会记得我 [Simplified Chinese edition signed for publication] Chen Yuanwang can seem gentle even when he isn’t smiling. But he shows no one any special warmth. Qin Qiu’s unrequited love ends in regret. She never gets to taste the candied hawthorn Chen Yuanwang promised to treat her to, and he never remembers her. In her youth, he will forever be the male lead whose name fills her diary and whose initials cover her scratch paper. But she will never become his leading lady. 215Reads8.8Score5214d adds
- 113 The Spring My Lover Left in My Eyes 眼睛是爱人留下的春 The eyes are the spring left behind by a lover 103Reads—Score—14d adds
- 114 I Spied on You Ten Thousand Times 偷看了你一万次 Unrequited love, BE, campus romance. The heroine is a little too love-brained. Don't read if that's not your thing. There's also a short-story version. The year Shi Chu fell for Xu Xingze, she was twelve. The first time she saw him, she thought he didn't belong here at all, and yet he drew every eye. After years of secretly loving him, Shi Chu's feelings became an open secret. Everyone knew she liked Xu Xingze, but the saddest thing of all was that Shi Chu knew Xu Xingze didn't like her. Years a —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 115 Entrusted to the Wind 寄于风 Little sunshine Huai Zhi (bottom) and the human icebox Yan Zhuo (top) Huai Zhi and Yan Zhuo grew up together and were the pride of their generation, always taking first and second place in their grade. Huai Zhi was mischievous and always getting into trouble as a child, but he listened especially well to Yan Zhuo and was afraid of making him angry. Huai Zhi: “Mad again? Better cheer you up.” _ Huai Zhi: I'm sorry, don't be mad. When the wind blows, I'll be there to coax you. Many years later, 197Reads8.0Score10814d adds
- 116 I'll Meet Her Again When Summer Comes 无夏再逢她 (Just received a rating; completed) [Heartbreak Youth Fiction | BE | Schoolyard Secret Crush | Healing] Cheng Wang had loved Lin Yiwan for years and years. He secretly wrote twenty-one letters, each one holding a piece of his heart. After the college entrance exams, Lin Yiwan suddenly kissed him of her own accord. But on the very day Cheng Wang planned to confess his feelings, she took her own life. All she left behind was a notebook containing every one of her secrets. Cheng Wang: “What’s the w 245Reads8.3Score10514d adds
- 117 One-Man Show 独角戏 [Signed for simplified Chinese publication] I wish I were brave, but when it comes to loving you, I always feel so unworthy. 388Reads8.8Score10214d adds
- 118 That Little Alley 那条小巷子 [Redemption + mutual pining + school life + angst + tragic ending] [One longs for the warmth of a home × one hopes to escape the control of her family] In the autumn of 2010, Xu Mo dragged her suitcase into that narrow alley. It was long and deep, and that year she was lost in its shadows. In the alley, she met Jiang Jiahe feeding the cats. That day, Jiang Jiahe helped her find a home. Secret love is a privilege reserved for cowards, and Xu Mo was a coward! She clung to that privilege until th 838Reads8.5Score19914d adds
- 119 The Campus Heartthrob Is Plotting to Make Me His 被系草伺机占有 [Heads-up: The male lead picks fights like a grade-schooler at first, but there’s a reason. He’s also more domineering, so if you only like strong female leads, this may not be for you.] College student Lin Shici starts dating Nan Zhe, the campus heartthrob from the neighboring department, mostly because she wants someone to eat with. He’s handsome, bad-boyish, and a notorious flirt. Everyone at their college says the campus playboy has met his match. They’re evenly matched, so surely they’ll br 68Reads8.8Score—14d adds
- 120 No Roses in Midsummer 盛夏无玫瑰 [Troubled, obsessive boy × warm, healing ray of sunshine] Unrequited love × love at first sight × bittersweet school romance Roses are a byword for romance, the beginning of regret, and the end of a midsummer... Romance let the roses pierce the whole summer, allowing them to take root and bloom in the pain of her wounds. In the end, they secretly became the only thorns in the time machine of her life, letting every unfinished kiss grow into an epitaph here, bringing every regret to its close. “A 78Reads—Score—14d adds
- 121 Etched in My Heart 铭刻心上 Blurb: [A diligent, battle-ready heroine who rises with the dawn x a deeply devoted hero who studies by candlelight] [Secret love comes true + mutual healing + sweet romance] After repeating a year, Li Momo finally gets into Ling University. While happily digging into her meal in the cafeteria, she runs into the handsome senior she’s had a crush on for three years. Someone takes an unflattering photo of her and posts it on the campus forum, and the backlash is immediate. Wherever she goes, peop 8Reads—Score—14d adds
- 122 When the Bright Moon Burns to Ashes 燃烬明月时 [Dead-end power struggles + mystery investigations + immortal fantasy + reincarnated gods and demons + ensemble cast and tragic romance + mutual secret love + bad ending] [The twelve young men who once dazzled the capital: some became ghosts moving the pieces, while others became souls offered as sacrifices. If you could live it all over again, would you gamble once more on a game you were doomed to lose, caught between the martial world and the one you love?] [That night, the century-old Leng f 24Reads8.8Score—14d adds
- 123 Fallen Leaves Gardenia 落叶Gardenia [Jiang Yi, gentle and thoughtful & Ye Shuang, sunny and handsome] A secret crush at school They knew each other for twelve years. Though their love was mutual, their story always ended in tragedy. She was always there with the scent of gardenias. She passed away with the scent of gardenias. And the scent of gardenias was gone from his side forever... “Ye Shuang, I'm sorry.” 13Reads—Score—14d adds
- 124 I Helped My Best Friend Pursue the Campus Heartthrob, but the School Bully Won Me Over 我帮闺蜜追校草，却被校霸攻略了 I Helped My Best Friend Pursue the Campus Heartthrob, but the School Bully Made Me His Target 607Reads—Score18514d adds
- 125 I Am Not Worthy of Being Called the Savior 我担不起救世主之名 Millions of years from now, who will remember that a handful of dust gave birth to a civilization? Beyond the heavens, civilizations rise and fall in the blink of an eye, vanishing into the vast universe. Who will remember that I once fought back on that planet? I bore the name of savior, yet failed to save everything: all that I loved, and all those who loved me. My name is Lin Chen, the last guardian of Gades. 75Reads—Score—14d adds
- 126 Chi Yu Meets Wan 迟屿遇晚 [Devoted Protector] x [Bright, Healing First Love] [Parallel Worlds | Teenage Secret Crush | Self-Matchmaking | Bittersweet Ending | Healing Through Fate] On the day of Lin Wanwan’s funeral, Lu Yichen didn’t cry. To his own surprise, he was calm. He quietly watched as she was laid to rest, then placed a lemon candy on her headstone. It was her favorite. On the way back, he played “The Clock Goes in Reverse,” her favorite song. Just as his car was about to enter a tunnel, everything before his ey 9Reads—Score14114d adds
- 127 If After the Bitter Comes the Sweet 如果苦尽甘来 [Mutual pining + love that grows over time + school life] One day, He Shulan discovered that there really was someone who loved every unworthy part of her with such sincere passion, carefully protecting her sensitivity and vulnerability. She thought that maybe her time in this world hadn't been for nothing. Theme: The effects of childhood experiences often stay with us for life. A happy childhood can heal us for a lifetime, while those who had an unhappy one spend their lives healing from it. 9Reads8.2Score—14d adds
- 128 Keep Moving Forward, Don't Look Back 向前走，别回头 At 18, Zhao Xingyang fell in love with someone. To her, the boy was a ray of light in her life, the best gift heaven had ever given her. He was brilliant and flamboyant, carefree and unrestrained. Unfortunately, he didn't know she existed, and she was too much of a coward... Perhaps because she'd met someone so dazzling in her youth, it took her a full ten years to let go. At 28, Zhao Xingyang told herself: “Keep moving forward. Don't look back.” 146Reads8.8Score—14d adds
- 129 The Day the Wind Blew 风吹过的那天 He Lin, congratulations on your wedding. On the day you got married, the wind blew. I thought I was finally ready to let go. 205Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 130 The Possessive School Bully Is Wild and Irresistible 偏执校霸，野又撩 [Soft, innocent little kitten VS obsessive, unhinged school bully VS Rekindled Romance VS Reunion VS Sweet Romance VS Healing] He said, “Kid, don’t think you can hit on me.” But when he saw the young man in her painting, he went mad. He pinned her against the wall and kissed her, the cigarette smoke still in his mouth. He sneered: “Shi Qi, I fucking want to destroy you.” “Shi Qi, you’re not allowed to like anyone else. I won’t let you.” His husky voice was utterly bewitching, and his warm breath 181Reads6.8Score—14d adds
- 131 The Wind Will Remember Him for Me 风会替我记住他 [School life + mutual crushes + healing + Be] Don't look at my embarrassing past. Don't make me beg you. “Gentle and sensitive” Qi Zhiyou x “sunny and outgoing” Cheng Weizhui Ten years after Qi Zhiyou died, Cheng Weizhui learned of her death. He spent a year in a daze before finally taking his own life. Scenes from his life replayed in his mind. Early autumn. When they first met, he had smiled and asked her, “What are you doing here?” Later, at a temple, he had sincerely prayed, “May my girl liv 55Reads8.2Score—14d adds
- 132 No Such Person Exists 杳无此人 [Undercover Assassin vs. Narcotics Detective] “Jinchen, after I’m gone, I’m entrusting my sister to you.” “Don’t tell her what happened to me. She cries at the drop of a hat, and if she finds out, she’ll cry her head off.” “Yu Jinyan, you big liar! Now that you’re gone, who’s going to protect me? I have no family left…” The day after Yu Jinyan died, Yu Jinchu vanished without a trace, as if she had disappeared from the face of the earth. Jiang Jinchen searched for her like a madman. Seven years 340Reads—Score12514d adds
- 133 The Phoenix’s Summer 不死鸟的夏 The gardenias bloomed, but the person watching them with me wasn't the boy who had dazzled my youth that summer long ago. He had gone to protect another girl for the rest of his life. I love white magnolias in summer. They usually bloom during the season, and their fragrance, like that of orchids, evokes an image of pure, jade-like beauty. After meeting Xu Yue, I fell in love with gardenias. They bloom every year around the summer solstice, their petals a pure white that symbolizes a promise to 27Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 134 Even a Broken-Winged Butterfly Wants to Kiss the Sea 残翅蝴蝶也想亲吻大海 “Sunny Boy with a Heart Condition, the Transfer Student × Kind Girl with Depression” [Mutual Devotion + Bad Ending + Willing to Die for Love + Tragedy + Vicious Supporting Female Character] The girl Ruodie suffers from depression. In her black-and-white world, there isn’t a glimmer of light. Her one and only wish is to see the real sea just once. Then transfer student Qi Hai enters her world, bringing her endless warmth and making her feel for the first time that the world has color. He is a boy 1kReads8.2Score33714d adds
- 135 I'm So Lucky It Was You 很幸运是你 “Why are you crying?” “I just feel like I haven’t been good enough to you. Li Ruoheng, were you hurting a lot before?” “Because of you, I’ve gradually come to believe that Jiang Xing can be lucky after all.” Their story began with a fleeting glimpse on a high-speed train, planting the seed of Jiang Xing’s secret crush. Along the way, in the gamble called “unrequited love,” Lu Jue left her with nothing. But in the end, Li Ruoheng made her the biggest winner of all... He heals her; her secret crus 9Reads—Score—14d adds
- 136 Half a Letter in Winter 冬天的半封信 They met in winter, grew close, parted ways, and found each other again. “See you in winter.” I’ll see you in winter. It turned out to mean goodbye until winter comes again. 70Reads—Score—14d adds
- 137 After the Deposed Crown Prince Leapt to His Death, the Emperor Regretted It 废太子一跃而下后，陛下他后悔了 From the moment I was born, my father had told me more than once that my existence was a disgrace, a mistake, and the reason future generations would criticize him. Well, he can rest easy this time. Because I’m going to die. 12.8kReads—Score31814d adds
- 138 Is It a Crime to Love Shen Tingzhou? 喜欢沈庭洲，有罪吗？ Come take a look! Don’t pass by without stopping! Immerse yourself in the pain of failing the high school entrance exam and ending up at a different school from the person you secretly love. A heads-up: The male lead appears only as an illusion throughout the story. He shows up only in the heroine’s memories, in other people’s words, and on her phone. To all you lovely readers who enjoy bittersweet unrequited-love stories, I’m sorry ꒦ິ^꒦ິ This is a genuinely heart-wrenching story of unrequited l —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 139 Youth and Midsummer 青春与盛夏 Youth ended that midsummer. One summer afternoon, in a stuffy classroom, I was drowsily on the verge of falling asleep when a piece of chalk suddenly hit me on the head, jolting me awake. I woke from the dream, and it felt as if my youth had ended too. 22Reads—Score—14d adds
- 140 Secret Love Is Like a Green Plum 暗恋好似一颗青梅果 A heartbreaking BE that will make you cry your eyes out: youthful angst, unrequited love, and bittersweet longing Xia Xi's youth was shrouded in gray. Her parents' endless arguments, her classmates' distance, and the chains of social anxiety left her like a shadow in the corner, silent and invisible. That changed in her first year of high school, when the sunny Shen Yiqing became her desk mate. Cheerful and kind, he was a ray of light piercing her gloomy world. He taught her to be brave and help 5.9kReads8.6Score1.3k14d adds
- 141 Jiadou's Little Red Flower 嘉朵小红花 Jiadou's Little Red Flower 73Reads—Score—14d adds
- 142 Midsummer Is Eternal 盛夏是永恒 A girl with heart failure × a cold, short-tempered boy Mutual salvation [School-life tragedy] An eternal, unchanging love, yet it was in the brief span of my life that an eternal love was created... The little sun warmed everyone, but in the end, she couldn't escape the endless cycle of summer. Under the stars, she made a wish: "May my Luoluo have peace year after year." Little scenes: "Hey, would you be interested in dating?" "Why are you such a stick-in-the-mud?" "Why is my darling so cute?" " 309Reads8.4Score10114d adds
- 143 A Secret Crush with a Hint of Tangerine 橘子味的暗恋 [Gentle academic prodigy Lin Xia × dashing bad boy heartthrob Mo Chengsheng] She never got to see that first snow, and she didn't make it through that bitter winter. Her life ended forever at the age of twenty-two. One summer, Lin Xia met Mo Chengsheng. One glance was all it took for her to fall helplessly, hopelessly in love. Her secret crush remained hidden from the world. Mo Chengsheng became a knot deep in her heart. “My name is Lin Xia.” “Mo Chengsheng.” Mo Chengsheng: “Are we not friend 70Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 144 Love Unspoken 相思不知语 A shy, obedient girl struggling with depression VS a roguishly handsome, brash school bully After developing depression because of her parents' arguments, shy girl Xia Zhijin transferred schools and met Qi Jingsheng, a school bully with a wealthy family but a broken childhood. They became deskmates, but he died of illness before they could fall in love. Because of her, he became a moon born from the abyss; Because of him, she became a bright, confident sun. That summer was so passionate, yet so 830Reads6.8Score18414d adds
- 145 The Cure for a Secret Crush 暗恋解药 Though those four words are hard to say, everything I do says, “I like you.” A campus romance about mutual secret crushes, told from both perspectives. Two people scarred by their families of origin save each other. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 146 Don’t Wear That Red Wedding Dress 别穿那件红嫁衣 Don't Wear That Red Wedding Dress 11Reads—Score—14d adds
- 147 Waiting for Winter to End, Longing for Spring 等冬尽，盼春来 Youthful Heartbreak | BE Aesthetics | Mutual Redemption | Fated by Life and Death Lose 10 pounds just from reading this [Quiet, Resilient Girl × Wild, World-Weary School Bully] In 2012, in a seaside town, Jiang Sheng and Nan Siye meet in the rundown Nanyang residential compound. She is a silent lamb to the slaughter, bullied by her classmates. Her mother has left home to work, her father disappeared ten years ago and never returned, and she lives under someone else’s roof. He is the school bull 1.6kReads8.2Score50314d adds
- 148 My Dear Zhu Xiaoli 亲爱的祝小黎 Dual female leads Xie Zhaozhao would remember that day until her dying breath: Zhu Xiaoli walked into the classroom in a pale yellow dress under the blazing midsummer sun. After introducing herself, Zhu Xiaoli pointed to the empty seat beside Xie Zhaozhao. “Teacher, I want to sit there.” “My name is Zhu Xiaoli. The Li is the one in ‘dawn.’ What's your name?” “Xie Zhaozhao.” “Which ‘zhao’?” “The ‘zhao’ in ‘living from day to day.’” 199Reads8.5Score—14d adds
- 149 The White Jade Tribulation in Blue Robes 青衣白玉劫 Complete. “In troubled times, the world is a furnace that burns away all devotion. Yet someone will always be willing to gather stars from the ashes.” [Republican-era setting + devoted couple + physical and emotional angst + happy ending] [Cool, devoted warlord Duan Wenyu (top) × resilient, breathtaking opera singer Si Jue (bottom)] “First meeting” “General, what do you think of the opera?” Lei Xinghai asked with a smile, pouring him a drink. Duan Wenyu toyed with his lighter, but his gaze reste 423Reads8.7Score10614d adds
- 150 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
