Novels like The Echo of a Secret Crush, and Then It Ends Badly
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as The Echo of a Secret Crush, and Then It Ends Badly, best match first.
- 101 Unrequited Love: A Grand, Silent Collapse 暗恋，是一场盛大的无声溃败 Some feelings are destined to remain unspoken, hidden away by the passing years. Like fireworks no one came to see, they burst into brilliant life and faded into lonely silence. We are destined to lose the people we love. Otherwise, how would we know how much they matter? The insecure and sensitive Jiang Wanyue × the bright and accomplished He Jinsheng Adapted from real personal experiences. [The psychology book Love Yourself More, Live Better is expected to be released in November] 65Reads—Score—14d adds
- 102 Gu Nian's Deep Love 顾念情深 He said, “Gu Nian, wait for me a little longer. I promise I’ll make you happy.” She remembered what he had said so many years ago. Four years later, he came back. He returned as Jiangcheng’s most powerful man. Pinning her against the cold wall, he gritted his teeth and said, “Love me? You’re not worthy!” “Why don’t you just die?” And she really was going to die. 109Reads6.0Score—14d adds
- 103 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
- 104 My Friend, Mr. Zhong 我朋友的钟先生 From school days to the real world, a doomed unrequited love 1. Mr. Zhong belongs to my friend, not me. I have always been a despicable person, secretly in love with my friend’s boyfriend. So I deserve whatever punishment fate has in store for me. 2. Li Ying would always remember that day. In the filthy bathroom, a carefree, languid young man suddenly appeared before her like a god. Without hesitation, he took off his own jacket, looked away, and held it out to Li Ying, whose clothes were in dis 113Reads—Score—14d adds
- 105 Her Ninth Year 她的第九年 The rating has just come in, but it’ll go up later~ ❤️ [Quiet and reserved Li Wu × gifted Chen Yi] In the splendor of youth, she once loved someone. When she saw him win an award, she felt proud; when she saw him smile, she was happy. She kept a little star hidden away for year after year. At the freshman welcome ceremony in late August, he wore a simple white T-shirt and black track pants. His eyes crinkled with a smile, and his clear, cool voice rang in her ears. In an instant, her cheeks flu 703Reads8.2Score—14d adds
- 106 A Reply from the Clouds 云端的回信 A Reply from the Clouds 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 107 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
- 108 The Ninth Autumn 第九个秋 [Innocent and carefree Mi Yicheng vs. taciturn Shen Jingjun] Everyone talks about meeting again in the next life, but he is a firm materialist. Love may bring partings and reunions, but there is no next life. On a rainy autumn day, Mi Yicheng waits beneath her office building for the rain to stop. As she gazes at the curtain of rain before her, an image of Shen Jingjun comes to mind. The dashing young man in a dark blue jacket stands across the road, smiling at her. He waves, the corners of hi 85Reads—Score—14d adds
- 109 The Rose Is Lost 玫瑰已失 At the hospital, she inexplicably learned that she did not have long to live. After that, she divorced the man who was her husband in name only. She couldn't bear to let him go, but the diagnosis left her no choice but to set him free. After the divorce, her health deteriorated by the day. Her best friend urged her to be hospitalized, but she shook her head and refused. In the end, she passed away alone at home. Later, under pressure from his grandmother in the Shen family, Shen Shen sent people 18Reads—Score—14d adds
- 110 An Imperfect Summer 夏天不尽人意 ◎ Avoidant personality × guiding personality ◎ Youthful campus romance / coming-of-age heartbreak / mutual devotion / secret crushes ◎ Cool and headstrong Ying Suiyu × roguishly handsome and free-spirited Tan Fang When Ying Suiyu was four, she was diagnosed with congenital heart disease. The complexity of her condition drained her family’s savings. Whenever the villagers saw her, they would say, “That child looks like she was born under an unlucky star. Even if she gets well, she probably won’t 42Reads—Score—14d adds
- 111 After Being Assaulted, the CEO’s Ex-Wife Returns Reborn 总裁前妻被侵犯后，涅槃归来 After Her Ex-Husband’s CEO Wife Was Assaulted, She Returned Reborn —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 112 Ember Frequency 余烬频率 “The Nokia E71 vibrates 600 times per minute, while the fatal heart rate for someone with congenital heart disease is 300 beats per minute. And the odds of us meeting were a miracle: one in 1.7 billion.” In late autumn 2011, the gloomy mathematical prodigy Cheng Ye met transfer student Su Tang beneath the library's tin awning. Wisteria petals clung to the hem of her water-blue skirt. Half a fingernail was missing from her left pinky, yet a single grape-flavored hard candy was enough to stop his 6Reads—Score—14d adds
- 113 The Eighth Winter 第八年雪 The Eighth Year of Snow —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 114 Rose and Lychee Candy 玫瑰荔枝糖 [Love at First Sight, Two Academic Stars] [Tsundere Demon King x Tough Little Airhead] [If They Both Die, It’s a Happy Ending] On the first day of school, Lu Ziyao fell in love with Shi Nian at first sight. All Lu Ziyao remembered was that the weather was beautiful that day, so beautiful he couldn’t remember it clearly, because he had met her. The boy approached her cautiously, afraid of frightening the girl he liked. He just didn’t know that once you get close to some things, they can stay with 61Reads6.7Score—14d adds
- 115 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
- 116 He Risked His Life to Save You, and You Still Think He Was Scheming? 他拿命救你，你还觉得他算计你？ He risked his life to save you, and you still think he was plotting against you? 403Reads—Score—14d adds
- 117 The Bellflower Is Not White 桔梗不白 Every moment spent near him was full of telltale slips. A performance called unrequited love is the hardest one to pull off. - (The male lead doesn't cheat. He appears as a ghost, hoping the heroine will finally give up on him and stop grieving. He also sacrifices his reputation so netizens will stop attacking her. If someone has to be swallowed up by public opinion, he wants it to be him. It's a self-destructive attempt to save her: he gives up his life and his good name, as long as she's all r 122Reads8.1Score10514d adds
- 118 Everyone Knows This Secret Except You 除你之外都知道这个秘密 [Scatterbrained little ray of sunshine × sharp-tongued top student] You ask what happened after that. Well, after that… Xiang Nan was once Sheng Gu’s light. When they meet again, Sheng Gu decides to become the one who chases the light. You just stand in the light. I’ll stay behind you and protect you, whether you can see me or not. Xiang Nan watches the sharp-tongued college genius who keeps showing up in front of her every day: “Oh no, why am I starting to fall for him?” “Does he actually lik 17Reads—Score—14d adds
- 119 When a Secret Crush Starts Counting Down 当暗恋开始倒计时 [BE + flirtation + mutual secret crush] [Happy-ending extra] Zhou Si met Shu Yin when she was seventeen. When Shu Yin left, she was still seventeen. Shu Yin was Zhou Si’s wife forever. Their love was worth more than a thousand words, more than ten thousand. The dress she wore when she married him was made from the densest clouds in a deep blue sky. She was Shu Yin, Zhou Si’s wife. No one could deny it. 34Reads—Score—14d adds
- 120 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
- 121 Love Turned to Ruin 婚爱成殇 After five years of marriage, Sang Nian still hadn't managed to warm Chi Yi's heart. For the sake of their sick child, she drugged Chi Yi, but all she got in return was his deep-seated hatred and vengeance. She lost the child... 18Reads—Score—14d adds
- 122 If There Is Love in Heaven 如果天堂有爱情 Even though falling in love with Gu Yu was a disaster, Xia Yisheng never regretted it. 33Reads5.5Score414d adds
- 123 A Letter in Spring 春日里的信 [Bad ending] The angst begins later on. You can decide whether to drop the novel based on the cover and synopsis. As a teenager, Shen Shuyi once had a crush on a dazzling boy. He was so bright and full of life. Reckless and upright × gentle and resilient By chance, Shen Shuyi became Xu Yi's guiding light. What he didn't know was that years earlier, she had fallen just short of the grades she needed to attend the city's top high school, where he studied. She had worked hard to match his level, 29Reads8.2Score—14d adds
- 124 A Coward in Love 是暗恋的胆小鬼 [Completed] [Secret Crush Comes True] [He Gets His Comeuppance for Chasing Her Too Late] [Angsty Romance] Chen Xu was the only person Jiang Yi ever loved during her youth, and the one she could never forget. But who wasn’t a coward with a secret crush back then? Long after graduation, Jiang Yi could still remember what they had been like. But when they met again, everything had changed. The last thing she heard about him was that he was getting married. When you’re young, you can’t help seeing t 123Reads—Score—14d adds
- 125 Mad Dog on the Far Side of the Moon: A Female Doctor's Dilemma 月亮背面的疯狗——一位女博士的纠结 The Mad Dog on the Far Side of the Moon: A Female Doctor’s Dilemma —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 126 The Eighth Winter 第八年冬 The first time the sensitive Li Xiting fell in love, it was with Chen Nian, the boy who seemed to glow as he stood in the crowd. She carefully held on to every interest they shared, and eventually turned those interests into a goal: getting into Nan University and being with him. But life is always cruel. She got into Nan University, but she didn't get him. She was like Cinderella in a fairy tale, except she didn't have the right glass slipper. Without that slipper, she could never enter his wor 211Reads8.3Score10114d adds
- 127 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
- 128 I Know Sorrow and Autumn 我知悲与秋 [College campus + youthful angst + reunion after years apart + sweet at first, then heartbreaking + BE ending + realistic + female coming-of-age] (The main story is complete. The latest bonus chapter has been posted in the Stories section on the homepage.) One autumn, Jiang Nian saw her eighteen-year-old self at the other end of the road. She held the eighteen-year-old girl tight, as if she had returned to that autumn five years ago. That day, nineteen-year-old Jiang Yiming stood amid the crowd 35Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 129 Huai'an 怀安 Xu Sui'an will always love Lu Huaizheng, and Lu Huaizheng will always protect Xu Sui'an. "To be loved is to have a brilliant light shine on the insecure in their darkest hour. It means that even if the whole world condemns you, I will still choose you without hesitation, come to you, and love you deeply." "Dear friend, one day we must say goodbye, but I will remember you forever. Farewell." 4Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 130 Thoughts and Longing 念与望 Campus | Mutual pining | BE A gloomy boy plagued by misfortune | A sensitive girl always afraid of losing what she has The breeze swept past the window, lifting an orange-yellow journal that shimmered in the sunlight. On the first page, someone had written: “If you can't forget, your feelings will be answered.” Jiang Wang, the name that ran through Shen Nian's teenage years. Her first crush, at eight. Then, at fourteen, she saw him again. She stayed by Jiang Wang's side in silence. She didn't da 35Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 131 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
- 132 Letting Go 割愛 [Short tragic ending + obsessive male lead] After my mother remarried, my stepbrother, who shared neither parent with me, was always finding new ways to bully me. But after our parents died, he changed completely. He stopped bullying me and instead stayed by my side, taking care of me without ever giving up on me. It was as if he’d become a different person. 62Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 133 A Winter’s Last Letter 冬日遗书 [Mutual Secret Crush + Angst + Youth and School Life + Both Leads Die | Slow-Burn Style | Hero's Secret-Crush Diary] When Fang Li was sixteen, her mother remarried, and she transferred to Nanshi No. 1 High School. There she met Jiang Zheng, the “bad boy” everyone talked about. As she got to know him, she realized this quiet boy wasn't as bad as everyone said. On the contrary, he was wonderful. So wonderful that Fang Li would never forget him for the rest of her life. The boy wasn't a savior, but 2.1kReads8.2Score54714d adds
- 134 An Undying Love 痴爱不渝 Ning Wu loves Yan Xiao with all her heart, but Yan Xiao hates her to the core. For the sake of a promise Yan Xiao made as a boy, Ning Wu stakes everything on winning his love, only to lose in the end. In the final moments of her life, she watches Yan Xiao marry someone else before turning and walking away. What she doesn’t know is that after she leaves, Yan Xiao searches for her like a madman... 181Reads5.5Score—14d adds
- 135 Hengchang Pawnshop on Yong'an Street: The Private Ledger That Was Never Destroyed 永安街恒昌当：那本从未销过的私账 Hengchang Pawnshop on Yong'an Street: The Private Ledger That Was Never Written Off —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 136 I Played Coward for Half a Year, Then the Courtesan Next Door Ran Off with the Money 我装怂半年，隔壁花魁卷款跑了 I Played the Coward for Half a Year, and the Courtesan Next Door Ran Off with the Money —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 137 Soft Candy Locks the Edge 软糖锁锋 Soft Candy Locks the Blade —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 138 Soul Transmigration to 1998 魂穿1998 He lost his job, his girlfriend broke up with him, and the dejected Ye Chen drowned his sorrows in alcohol. When he woke up, he had transmigrated to 1998, into his own six-year-old body. From then on, the six-year-old had the experience of a thirty-five-year-old. This time, watch me turn things around and make a fortune of hundreds of billions! 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 139 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
- 140 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
- 141 Her White Dress 她的白纱裙 [Cool girl + oblivious male lead + unrequited love + campus + mild angst] Ye Junqing comes from a poor family. With the help of Mu Chen, the favored son of heaven, she gradually emerges from the darkness, but in the end, they never get together. A story of unrequited love. At the beginning, he ruffles her hair. "Then it's a promise. We'll go see the sea together." At the end, he stands alone in the sea breeze, tears tracing his cheeks. "Junqing, where are you? Won't you come back to me?" 41Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 142 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
- 143 Brother, the Rain Has Stopped 哥哥，雨停了 [Chi Nian × Jiang Shi] I held a bouquet of roses, wanting to give them to the brother I loved most. Sadly, I never got the chance... In 2007, I saw my brother for the first time. The young man stood by the window, looking relaxed as the bow in his hand played a beautiful melody. In 2010, the rain stopped, and my brother left. In 2012, my brother promised that the following summer he would return to Beicheng and never leave me again. In 2013, the white flower pinned to my chest kept reminding me 316Reads8.7Score10114d adds
- 144 Summer, Nowhere to Be Seen 【夏不见】 [Sweet at first, angsty later + Beautiful tragedy] [Main couple: Mutual salvation Cold boy × Somber girl] [Side couple: Bickering rivals] They met in the leafy green of summer. After one chance encounter after another, the cold boy and the somber girl discovered that each shone at school, yet suffered in homes painfully barren of warmth. Slowly, their young feelings grew wild, but in the end, they couldn’t withstand the twists of fate. - “Jiang Leng, it’s snowing. Another winter has come,” “But 1.2kReads8.2Score34114d adds
- 145 Me, Hiding in the Sofa 藏在沙发里的我 Me, Hiding in the Sofa 1.8kReads—Score3414d adds
- 146 She Went Mad With Regret After I Was Diagnosed With Late-Stage Stomach Cancer 我胃癌晚期后，她悔疯了 My girlfriend said she wanted to know what it felt like to be a female boss. Without a second thought, I transferred the company into her name. A reporter asked who she was most grateful to on her journey, but she nestled in the arms of a sweet-talking man and smiled coyly. “Big sister, of course I had to help you. It hurts my heart to see you struggle~” I curled up in my hospital bed, the diagnosis of stomach cancer glaring in my hands. Only later did I learn that the sweet-talking man had appr 8Reads—Score—14d adds
- 147 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
- 148 Tortured Love 虐恋 As she teetered between life and death, Wen Xingyi wanted to tell the girl she had been at eighteen: Don’t secretly draw that man. Don’t write so many diary entries about him. And above all, don’t fall in love with him. Because that man was a demon all along. 215Reads5.3Score—14d adds
- 149 One Hundred Do-Overs: Side Story 《任务重来一百次》番外 Extra Story for "The Mission: One Hundred More Tries" 636Reads—Score8314d adds
- 150 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
