Novels like A Crooked Road Through Life
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as A Crooked Road Through Life, best match first.
- 101 The Silent Battlefield Between Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law 婆媳没有硝烟的战场 The conflict between Lin Xiao and her mother-in-law, Zhang Cuilan, keeps escalating. Then Lin Xiao undergoes a dramatic transformation, becoming independent and self-reliant. She lives life on her own terms and rewrites her future, until the road ahead finally opens up... 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 102 Love and Hate Rise With the Wind 进蜕之爱恨随风起 As school draws to a close, you find an unexpected love that comes to nothing. Your hopes for life after graduation are replaced by one setback after another. You need to work hard. If you earn ten million a year, you’ll have no trouble finding someone! But in the end, reality tramples your hopes. Love slips away, lost to your own lumbering cluelessness! Heaven and earth are merciless, but people have hearts. People may have hearts, but you have no interest. The wind is silent; the trees do not 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 103 City Romance: 101 Heart-Pounding Moments 都市恋语：101次心动瞬间 In this bustling city, love quietly takes shape in a thousand different ways. Some feel their hearts race as they pass a stranger in a subway station. Some rediscover their courage after a chance encounter in a cafe. And some use words across a screen to keep each other warm through lonely nights... This collection brings together 101 short stories, each a vivid, self-contained glimpse of love. Some are sweet, some bittersweet, some absurd, and some healing. Together, they capture the excitement —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 104 That Year, Because of the Campus Belle, I Ran Off to Guangdong to Become a Handsome Lad 那年因为校花，我跑路广东当靓仔 [Jianghu]+ [Workplace]+ [Romance]+ [No System]+ [Not reborn] [Based on the author’s real experiences working in Guangdong, this is a story about migrant workers in cities like Dongguan and Shenzhen. This is not a wish-fulfillment novel, so don’t read it if that’s not your thing!] In 1997, Zhang Zaiye, Li Yaocong, Jiang Xinyue, and others met while working summer jobs in Guangdong, and formed a deep friendship. At the time, Dongguan’s economy was growing at a breakneck pace. Workers poured in fr 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 105 You, from the Ming Dynasty 来自大明的你 The Early Cross-Dressing Reversal Has Its Reasons + Urban Slice of Life Xu Youlin is a young man who loves Chengdu. He moved to the city a few years ago to pursue his dreams and eventually bought a home of his own. What he never expected was to have a chance encounter with a swordswoman from the Ming dynasty. Under a series of unusual circumstances, Yan Xiaoyan, the Ming-era swordswoman, temporarily moves into Xu Youlin's home. A series of events follows, leaving him both furious and exasperated 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 106 A Collection of Modern Shanghai Stories 上海现代故事集 Volume Two: A New Shanghai Mom. She has a second child, a son and a daughter, though her daughter’s troubles in middle school already have her at her wits’ end. She used to think she’d be happy as long as she had a modestly comfortable life, and at least she could count on her husband. But then her deranged sister-in-law shows up and turns both families’ lives into a complete mess! Volume One: An only daughter who has been abroad for twenty years rushes back to Shanghai to claim her grandmother 204Reads—Score—14d adds
- 107 Yunluo Weiguang: A Winding Career Path 云落薇光：职场逆旅 [Career comeback + women's growth + face-slapping wish fulfillment + power struggles + romance] Yun Luowei is focused on making money when her company ruthlessly fires her for her outstanding performance and withholds the bonus she is owed! Injustice at work drives her to the brink, but it also ignites her fury, and she resolutely takes up the law as her weapon. This is not only her fight against injustice, but the beginning of her transformation. How does the pushover who was once at the mercy 20Reads8.8Score—14d adds
- 108 Chunfen 春芬 Ni Chunfen had known since she was little that her parents were different from other children’s parents. They both spoke with sign language. But they lived a happy life. After Ni Chunfen graduated from college, her parents told her a secret: she was adopted. Now that she was grown up and looking for a job and a boyfriend, they decided to tell her. They didn’t want their daughter to become romantically involved with one of their biological sons. If she ever got serious about a boyfriend, she had 52Reads—Score—14d adds
- 109 Office Politics: A Pay Cut Comes Knocking 职场：降薪来敲门 The day Li Da received notice of a pay cut, he also found out that his wife was cheating on him. See how he turns his career around after this double blow, with beautiful women by his side...! This is a work of realistic fiction. 6Reads—Score—14d adds
- 110 Finding True Love Inside and Outside Marriage in Midlife 人到中年婚姻内外寻找真爱 Yang Duo is a flower in full bloom. Though she’s forty, she’s still young and beautiful. A woman in pursuit of true love, she yearns for romance and has spent her life exploring and experiencing it. A passionate love affair that nearly cost her life in her youth, a joyless marriage in middle age, and an unexpected encounter outside her marriage: whenever she falls for someone, she loves with wild abandon and suffers heartbreak that tears her apart. Her three close friends have very different l 638Reads8.7Score10114d adds
- 111 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
- 112 A Girl Spent Seven Years Breaking Herself into Pieces and Entrusting Them to Others 一个女孩用七年时间把自己摔碎了分给别人保管 A girl spent seven years breaking herself into pieces and entrusting them to others to keep. 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 113 The Taste of Being Alive 是活着的味道 The taste of being alive. 6Reads—Score—14d adds
- 114 True to Myself 本心 No one can live solely for others, but neither can we completely cast aside our responsibilities. In real life, we often waver between “living for others” and “living for ourselves,” all the while judged by moral standards. Family relationships are not static; they change over time. Families that endure hardship may fall apart, rebuild themselves, or eventually go their separate ways, living along parallel paths of their own. As we struggle to survive, how do we come to understand ourselves and 693Reads—Score—14d adds
- 115 This Life Is Over, I'll Be a Leader in the Next 这辈子就这样了，下辈子当领导 Two minutes after Fang Leilei died, she came back to life on the spot and was sent straight back to the day of her new-hire military training. One familiar, youthful face after another. Back then, he hadn't become a department manager yet. Back then, she hadn't stabbed me in the back yet. Ah! Isn't that my dream man?! He married a scheming woman in my past life, so it's my turn to have him in this one! Just look at me, Fang Leilei: my career was a mess and my love life was a disaster in my last 19Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 116 My Wife's Secret: A Love I Can't Understand 娇妻的秘密，无法理解的爱 We had been married for two years, but my wife still wouldn't sleep with me. Then one day, I saw her go to a hotel alone while she was supposed to be at work, and discovered her shocking secret... 1.1kReads5.5Score10014d adds
- 117 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
- 118 Run! Your Blind Date Is from Chaoshan 快跑，相亲对象是潮汕人 Period novel / realistic fiction / ensemble cast The actual story is the opposite of what the title suggests. The heroine, Yang Biyao, eventually feels fortunate to have chosen the responsible male lead, Cai Zekun, who puts his family first. Synopsis: Through a friend’s introduction, Yang Biyao goes on a blind date with a man from Chaoshan. Her life then unfolds through negotiating the bride price, moving far from home after marriage, holding a wedding banquet, helping her husband inherit the fa 571Reads8.1Score10514d adds
- 119 Better Never to Have Met in This Life 此生不如不见 This is a novel about love and hate intertwined. There is no transmigration, cultivation, or System, just ordinary human nature in the real world. Through a twist of fate, the protagonist, Wang Zhicheng, meets his fiancée's identical twin sister, and a love that no one will accept begins to unfold. The many hardships of the real world push the two people who love each other toward the abyss, costing them their lives. When you look back on your youth, this novel may make you feel like you've been 1.1kReads6.7Score10714d adds
- 120 You Are the First Light of My Life 你是我最初的光 She has eyes that can see into people's hearts, but she has never once opened them to him. Su Nian and Lu Jun have been married for three years. He is gentle, considerate, and seemingly beyond reproach. Until a bodyguard's words, “You're the second woman he brought home,” tear open a crack in their peaceful life. Using her mind-reading ability, she catches a glimpse of the truth: his first love, Chen Ruobai, who jumped to her death, and a past buried for four years. What she doesn't know is that 3Reads7.0Score79214d adds
- 121 My Girl of All Seasons 我的四季姑娘 This is a memoir... A journey from my own pristine world, across a bridge of dreams... to a new setting... And a journey of hating goodbyes, experiencing them, and learning to live with them. A flower that will never leave, delighting in all the seasons of the past as time passes. 4Reads7.8Score—14d adds
- 122 The Gray Trade 灰色行业 For a man, whether he's working the edges of the law or investing, success means happiness for the whole family, while failure is his burden alone. There are no gamblers, just poor kids trying to turn their lives around. 528Reads—Score10614d adds
- 123 The Invisible Blade 无形的刀刃 In this restless world, people seem eager to voice their opinions on everything. They pay too much attention to others and forget to focus on their own lives. Those incessant displays of excessive concern and so-called positive energy in the name of justice have become the sharpest knives, killing young people one by one in the darkness. Those young people question themselves and feel anxious in the night, wondering what they did wrong. In truth, they did nothing wrong! And what have those who a 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 124 First Love? Who Cares! The Chinese Teacher Has Big Plans 初恋算个屁，语文老师要干大事 (No System, no golden finger, no being reborn, just slow growth) After getting back together with her first love, being smacked by a parent, and getting stabbed by her own boyfriend, she lost the ability to have children. Then, after finishing her graduate school entrance exams, her mother died unexpectedly. Xia Shinan decided, “First love can go to hell. Building a career and making big money are what matter most!” Xia Shinan (a pun on “born female”), a 26-year-old woman, comes from a family t 5Reads—Score—14d adds
- 125 A Second New Beginning 二次新生 [No System] [Not Reborn] [Realistic Urban Life] [Restaurant Startup] [Slice of Life] It wasn’t until the day I got divorced that I understood: closing the noodle shop wasn’t the hardest part. The hardest part was watching my ex-wife get into someone else’s car, then having to smile as I served the last pot of bone broth to my summer customers. Later, I won a bet to take over a restaurant. I thought my life was finally turning around. Until I realized that every step I took was a square on someon 16Reads—Score—14d adds
- 126 Fading Lights Upon the Sea 海上灯火阑珊 This is a story about music, dreams, and love. Yang Cheng, a musician who left his hometown of Shanghai for Beijing, staking everything on his dream, was crushed by powerful industry interests, betrayed by his lover, and had his work stolen. His heart completely broken, he slunk back home. After withdrawing from the noise and ruins of the music scene, he couldn't bring himself to return to his family and lived alone in a rented place, sinking into despair. In the apartment he shared with others, 26Reads—Score—14d adds
- 127 The Phoenix Woman Marries a Phoenix Man 凤凰女嫁给凤凰男 This is an inspirational story about Yan Yan and Liang Liang, two top students who make their way from the countryside to Beijing. Through their own hard work, they put down roots there, buy a home and a car, and raise a family. Their journey is filled with hardships and laughter, as they keep facing new challenges and growing along the way. 255Reads—Score—14d adds
- 128 Neither Storm Nor Sunshine! 也无风雨也无晴！ Marriage Before Love, a realistic urban romance about everyday married life! Su Qin and Zhou Xinping marry after being introduced through a matchmaking arrangement, and they bicker constantly. Just as Su Qin feels disappointed and lost, a new dawn arrives. She discovers that her husband truly cares for her, and together they take on a new stage of life! 419Reads—Score—14d adds
- 129 The City's Ultimate Player in Love 都市情场高高手 Lao Liu, an urban office worker, unexpectedly runs into the girl he had a crush on as a teenager. After much hesitation, he decides to pursue his youthful dream. Through a twist of fate, he ends up meeting his dream girl’s cousin by accident. Caught between the two women, he is confused and carried away by his feelings, yet too timid to act... 445Reads9.4Score10514d adds
- 130 The Rules of the Children's Home 儿女家的规矩 To help their children raise the grandchildren, a couple in their sixties were forced to live apart. From the day Zhao Youlin moved to the city to help care for his son's child, he became a “guest” in his son's home. A man from a small town, he couldn't fit into life in the big city. He had to speak softly, keep the TV muted, and even watch his son's expression before giving his grandson a piece of meat... Though Zhao Youlin was careful about everything, he still couldn't avoid falling into conf 11kReads8.6Score53414d adds
- 131 My Five Sisters Raised Me, So I Bought Each of Them a House 五个姐姐养大我，我送每人一套房 When I was seven, Mom and Dad were gone. My five older sisters took turns raising me. The eldest dropped out of school to work a sewing machine. The second scavenged rotten vegetables at the market. The third earned money competing in tournaments. The fourth never had an entry labeled “for herself” in her ledger. The fifth cut off her long braids and sold them for eight yuan to pay my tuition. Chen Zi'en lived next door. He was the school bully, feared by everyone. He'd never lost a fight, but 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 132 The Woman Who Couldn’t Be Caged 困不住的她 Pei Xiaocao is someone who refuses to follow the usual path. Along the road of life, she has erased everything she was supposed to do. Her life follows no one else’s rules. She believes only in her own! 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 133 The Wife’s Mask 妻子的假面 His wife slips out to hotels and bars late at night. After looking into it, he discovers that beneath her gentle, virtuous exterior, she is hiding many secrets. After unmasking his wife, what should he do next... (P.S. No golden finger or supernatural abilities in this book, just the most genuine emotions.) 1.2kReads6.9Score10014d adds
- 134 Those of Us Who Don’t Want to Go to Work 不想上班的我们 There are three protagonists in this story: a young man who only wants to open a bar, a young woman who drops out of school to become a livestreamer, and me, someone who always played by the rules but eventually became thoroughly disillusioned with office life. This is a story about a group of young people, just like you and me in our youth. We don't want to go to work, but society beats us down and grinds us into the floor. After enduring hardship, a band of little good-for-nothings rises up to 587Reads—Score10814d adds
- 135 The Shoe Factory Worker Holds Forth, and She Knows So Much! 鞋厂女工论道，她知道那么多！ [Urban slice of life + romance] The heroine is beautiful and works at a factory. She takes care of looking lovely while the hero works hard to get ahead. He climbs the factory's management ranks and even puts in time on the production line, all so the two of them can tie the knot and enjoy a long, happy life together. But things aren't that simple... 134Reads—Score—14d adds
- 136 Unsettled Feelings for Fengzhi 进蜕之枫至意难平 After being kidnapped and assaulted, Li Lin still cannot let go of her hatred. When a message suddenly arrives from a classmate in another province, she sets off on her quest for revenge without hesitation. But she never expected that once she left, no word would ever come back. Worried about Li Lin’s safety and rebelling against her family’s attempts to arrange a job for him, Su Feng resolutely sets out to find his missing friend. “Is that you, Su Feng?” A woman he never expected to see stares 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 137 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. 18Reads—Score—14d adds
- 138 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 805Reads6.2Score10414d adds
- 139 A Xiong in the Workplace 职场阿雄 The notorious “car scandal” made headlines everywhere, and the woman at its center turned out to be Xiong Jun's girlfriend, Shi Tiantian. Furious, Xiong Jun broke up with her. Then Xiong Jun hit the darkest point of his life. See how an ordinary man turns his fortunes around...! No golden finger, just a story grounded in reality! 134Reads—Score—14d adds
- 140 If You Love Me, Say It 爱我请说出来 At thirty, Hao Linghan has never had a girlfriend because of his family circumstances. After meeting Ye Qiqi, an orphan, he wants to date her. But Ye Qiqi's background isn't as simple as his investigation led him to believe. Hope you enjoy this new book. 19Reads—Score—14d adds
- 141 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
- 142 The Comeback: From Wage Slave to CEO 逆袭！从打工仔到总裁 This book tells the story of Lin Qiang, an 18-year-old from a rural village in northwest China. When his family was struck by sudden hardship, with his father seriously ill and debts piling up, he had no choice but to give up his place at a prestigious university. With just 200 yuan in his pocket, he set off alone for the prosperous coastal city of Donghai to make a living. He started out hauling bricks at construction sites, then seized opportunities to learn new skills and struggle through the 13Reads6.5Score—14d adds
- 143 Bullied by My Boss, My Aunt Helps Me Fight Back 被上司欺压，阿姨带你去反扑 During a round of layoffs at the company, Xia Zhan was abandoned by the leader he trusted most, something he never saw coming. But Xia Zhan refused to give up. He teamed up with Hou Xiaotian and planned his moves step by step. Watch Xia Zhan enjoy life in the workplace. 377Reads—Score—14d adds
- 144 My First Online Girlfriend 我的初恋女网友 My First Online Love 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 145 Confession Game: Eight Seats 坦白局:八个位置 Confession Game: Eight Seats —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 146 I Returned to School After Graduation to Work as a Security Guard, and My Teacher Became My Wife 毕业回校做保安，老师变老婆 [Urban slice of life, school life, sweet romance, light comedy, one female lead] As the saying goes, college graduates these days go straight into unemployment. Vocational colleges are everywhere, bachelor's degrees are a dime a dozen, and a good bachelor's degree is said to be no worse than a vocational degree. Gu Chang Geng didn't realize how true that was until he graduated. His parents had always told him that if he didn't study hard, he wouldn't be able to find a job. Only now did he realiz 2.9kReads6.1Score23014d adds
- 147 Wine and Beauty Are Irresistible 酒色撩人 Urban Life + Romance + Flirtation + Ex-Girlfriend Regrets It + One Female Lead (Not a wish-fulfillment story. No formulaic tropes, plot-focused, and slow-paced. Read with caution if that’s not your thing!) Money gives a man courage, and only a man with courage dares to chase women. A poor young man has a one-night stand and unexpectedly becomes a father. He then falls in love with a rich heiress. And so begins a hilarious, heartwarming tale! 372Reads8.6Score—14d adds
- 148 When Ji Comes, Make Yourself at Home 季来之，则安之 As the empire teeters on the brink of collapse, Ji Shuhe sees through her fiancé’s false affection and turns around to marry Ji Bai. She intends for them to spend their lives treating each other with polite respect, but finds herself falling deeper and deeper under his doting care... 126Reads—Score—14d adds
- 149 The Men I Met After My Divorce 离婚后，我遇到的男人们 We had known each other for 26 years and been married for 20. We went from having nothing to building an estate worth tens of millions, and from being alone to having a son and a daughter. To outsiders, our marriage looked enviably perfect. At last, after all my years of waiting, it came to a happy ending. At last, I’m divorced and completely free. Now I can observe the men around me as an outsider. Men come in all kinds. There’s a type for everyone. This is my new book. If you happen to come ac 574Reads6.5Score—14d adds
- 150 Meeting Chen Yu 遇见陈宇 Tired of over-the-top dramas? Try this modern romance based on real experiences, with no System and no contrived drama. While picking out a bracelet for her best friend, Lin Xue meets Chen Yu, a cheerful, sunny programmer. The two weather life’s storms together and make several good friends, earning the nickname “The Seven Swordsmen.” The seven of them travel to Gumu Village, where one mishap follows another along the way. 14Reads—Score—14d adds
