Novels like Diary of Survival in the City
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Diary of Survival in the City, best match first.
- 101 A Lifetime of Humiliation, All for the Day of Reckoning 半生忍辱只等清算时刻 As a child, he lost his mother, who called him a good-for-nothing, and his father, who was useless alive. He barely survived the beatings and abuse from his stepfather and the others. Later, he discovered that his father hadn't actually died by suicide. He endured countless humiliations, and over 37 years, through patience and cunning, rose from an insignificant nobody to a wealthy power broker. He pulled off a breathtaking comeback! He spent half his life enduring humiliation, not just to survi 32Reads—Score—14d adds
- 102 Leave Some Space, My Humble Abode 留白，寒舍 A diary about love, written from a wife’s perspective and addressed to his wife. Some people love flowers simply for their blossoms, and love watching them bloom. Others love a flower from the moment it is still a seed, anticipating what it will become. They watch it sprout, break through the soil, and keep growing upward. Its trunk grows ever sturdier, while leaves seem to appear from nowhere, one after another. They watch the leaves turn from pale green to deep green, then from deep green to a 29Reads—Score—14d adds
- 103 My Beloved Has Waited So Long 良人久候 [Marriage before love + whirlwind marriage + sweet mutual devotion + everyday life + romance and marriage + love that grows over time] (The leads aren’t exceptional prodigies, princes, or princesses. They’re ordinary working stiffs: no wish fulfillment, no grand romance, just a realistic story.) A sweet romance that starts bitter and ends sweet. After setbacks at work leave Bai Zhanying physically and emotionally exhausted, she returns to her hometown, only to face her parents’ relentless pres 13.8kReads9.0Score1.7k14d adds
- 104 She Works as a Maid for a Shenzhen Tycoon 她在深圳豪门做保姆 After her husband divorces her, a nurse from a small county town heads south to Shenzhen to support her child and put her younger brother through school. After losing her job, she is hired as a nanny by Miss Chen, a wealthy heiress. She goes through being framed, misunderstood, dismissed, earning her first savings, suffering a miscarriage after being beaten, and heartbreak. In the end, she marries a local bachelor and becomes the leading lady of a wealthy family. As Miss Chen’s nanny, she witnes 5.9kReads9.2Score70114d adds
- 105 The 365-Day Relentless Dating Plan 365天疯狂相亲计划 [Modern romance + lifelong single + falling in love + dating pitfalls] On her 29th birthday, Mu Chen makes a vow: she’ll get married before she turns 30. Having been single her whole life, she sets out on a long search for love, rushing from one blind date to the next. What will happen as she searches for Mr. Right? Stay tuned. 20Reads—Score—14d adds
- 106 Dongguan Memories: The Girls Who Loved Me Back Then 东莞往事：那些年爱过我的女孩 [Urban Slice of Life + Multiple Heroines + Underdog’s Rise + Workplace] In 2006, Lin Yu arrives in Dongguan just after graduating from college. The city is said to be full of opportunities and romantic adventures. There, he meets the women who warm and support him as he grows, while he slowly rises from a rookie who can’t even tighten a screw to a workplace elite. He struggles and fights for his dreams in the face of reality, but growth always comes at a price. No System giving him cheat powers, 905Reads—Score6114d adds
- 107 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
- 108 Breaking the Bottom Line 打破底线 In the eyes of others, he has it all: an executive title at a branch company and a happy family. But he also has plenty of secrets he can’t let see the light of day… A routine audit at the head office becomes the turning point in his fate… 14.3kReads8.2Score73414d adds
- 109 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
- 110 The Woman Next Door 邻家女人 The lives of women in an old Shanghai mansion [A self-conscious, bullied high school beauty who draws everyone in + a devoted childhood sweetheart who is her pure first love] [A chaotic, troubled painter + a refined, domineering gallery owner, drawn to each other] [A despairing housewife with depression + her cold doctor husband, who has to fight to win her back] [Urban romance + sweet campus love + an ensemble of women] In an old French-style mansion in Shanghai, Zhang Yajing has just signed a 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 111 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
- 112 Summer Tangerine Through the Seasons 夏橘的春夏秋冬 On a bright morning, a girl named Xia Ju transferred to a new school. Teacher: “Gu Bei, she’ll be your new deskmate from now on.” The boy nodded. Xia Ju looked at him. He was an exceptionally handsome boy. From that day on, the two of them were never apart again. A sweet romance from school days to the wedding aisle. 16Reads—Score—14d adds
- 113 Marriage Is a Scam 婚姻似骗局 This novel tells several little stories about love and marriage, in the hope of helping married and unmarried women alike see marriage for what it really is. A certain well-known contemporary male writer once said that the essence of marriage is that it devours people. Actually, whether it devours people or not is beside the point. Human nature is inherently selfish. If you’re a woman with a hopelessly romantic heart and want a cure, you should definitely read this. You can get married, but make 7.5kReads8.7Score1.3k14d adds
- 114 My Tenth Year as a Simp 我当舔狗的第十年 Mo Ziyan screamed because Yang Dun had knocked her to the ground, and the fall hurt. Yang Dun screamed because he had accidentally pressed his hand against Mo Ziyan’s chest... Embarrassed, Yang Dun quickly scrambled to his feet, then awkwardly helped Mo Ziyan up. But Mo Ziyan thought Yang Dun had knocked her down on purpose. “Team Leader Yang, how could you be so naughty? You told me to stand right here and not move, but it turns out you were lining me up so you could knock me over!?” —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 115 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 708Reads—Score—14d adds
- 116 Tang Tiantian Meets the Third Young Master of the Mo Family 糖甜甜遇莫家三郎 When she was five, her mother died by suicide after battling cancer and depression. When he was ten, his parents divorced because of their troubled relationship. At twenty-two, after graduating from college, he was dumped by his girlfriend when he proposed. He then shut himself away in S City and spent six years writing online novels. At twenty-two, after graduating from college, she became a high school teacher in S City, only to be driven out of her home by her stepmother. Two people from trou 80Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 117 Those of Us Born in the ’80s 八零后的我们 We, the post-80s generation, have weathered life's joys and sorrows and suffered enough from the hardships of life and marriage. Amid the daily grind, our days have been steadily dwindling, and before we knew it, our generation had reached middle age... 2.7kReads8.2Score16514d adds
- 118 After Faking a Pregnancy to Force a Divorce, My In-Laws Beg Me to Forgive Them 假孕逼离后，婆家跪求我原谅 After faking a pregnancy to force a divorce, my in-laws beg me to forgive them 13Reads—Score—14d adds
- 119 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
- 120 The Family's Hidden Guards 家族暗卫 A story about rural revitalization, bringing a family back together and creating an ideal life. Before the Spring Festival in 2025, my second uncle asked me to return to the village to meet him. He handed me a black stone passed down through our family and told me to inherit the duty of the family’s secret guards, protecting our family’s development from the shadows. I also inherited a fortune passed down through the family, along with the friendship of eight families who had been close to o 7.8kReads—Score1k14d adds
- 121 The Internet Takes the World by Storm 网事成风 She was born in the 1980s and sent away to be fostered soon after birth. Her greatest childhood hope was to live with her parents. She spends her life healing from her childhood wounds. After enduring one heartbreak after another, she finally finds the right person. This is a healing story, but it is not a clean romance. Read with caution if that bothers you. 9Reads—Score—14d adds
- 122 Aunt Mei 媚姨 Male Lead: Ding Yuan Female Lead: Liu Meiyi No one is reborn, and there is no System. This is an era of struggle belonging to the older generation! That year, Ding Yuan earned top marks in the imperial examinations, only to have his life stolen from him when his stepmother conspired with her family to switch his results. His father, unaware of the truth, set out on a rainy night to sell goods in the mountains and raise money for Ding Yuan to retake the exams. But the tractor overturned in a ravi 5.6kReads8.8Score48014d adds
- 123 Green Vine 绿萝 This book is for everyone who has ever waited. This is a novel about all the things left unsaid: not saying you like someone, not saying you are waiting, not saying whether it was worth it. But all those unspoken words are tucked inside candy wrappers, hidden in a tin box, and buried in the beeping sounds of a phone booth. The bravest thing Lin Dong ever did was not repairing that imported machine or saving enough for a down payment on a house with a courtyard. It was telling Su Xiyue, “It's t 6Reads—Score—14d adds
- 124 Love at Forty 不惑爱情 Xu Anqin, a middle-aged woman, has a life that's a complete mess: a mother with dementia, a selfish older sister, in-laws who are always scheming, and a husband who never gets a clue. Everything gives her anxiety. At the lowest point in her life, her rich, handsome first love reappears. Maybe she has another path to choose, but Xu is clear-headed: "I'm almost forty. How could I still be some domineering CEO's unattainable first love?" Before the divorce, life backed her into a corner with no way 185Reads—Score—14d adds
- 125 After My Divorce, I Become My Boss’s Favorite 离婚后我成了上司掌心宠 The heroine, Song Mei, and her husband, Chen Yu, were college classmates. They dated for four years and got married as soon as they graduated. So that Song Mei could have a child sooner, she never took a job. Two years later, her husband decided to marry his first love and resolutely divorced Song Mei. After the divorce, Song Mei crossed paths with Gao Jun by chance, and her fate changed completely. Born into a privileged family, Gao Jun initially looked down on the unremarkable Song Mei. But af 6.5kReads—Score10914d adds
- 126 Life, with Nowhere to Land 人生，无处安放 By middle age, Li Shu's life had become a complete mess. Her marriage had turned cold and distant, her grown son was going down a rebellious path, and her body and mind were steadily wearing down. How could she go on living such a miserable life? 766Reads8.9Score10114d adds
- 127 Tricked into Marriage by an Uncle-Circle Top-Tier Star 被叔圈顶流骗婚了 [Marriage first, love later + age gap + pure-hearted, love-struck male celebrity × career-driven female assistant who has sworn off love + wily old fox × little hedgehog (animal archetypes)] After a car accident, Lin Zhixia goes home with Zheng Sinong, a top-tier star in the “older uncle” scene. She agrees to marry him that very day, and they get their marriage certificate the next. As soon as they get the certificate, they're trending! One hot search after another! Are they trying to make her s 864Reads8.7Score10614d adds
- 128 One Glance, A Lifetime of Love 一次回眸，一世情 [Workplace Romance] + [Modern Romance] + [Family] + [Love at First Sight] + [Secret Crush] This is a tangled love story between one woman and three men. Ouyang Bo, a top student from a prestigious university, gives up his promising future to follow her to a remote mountain village and continue a love they both chose. Cheng Xi, the city’s top official, remains true to his first love for twenty years, letting the feelings sparked by their first meeting deepen into a profound love. Rich and handso 1.7kReads9.4Score19414d adds
- 129 A Temporary Romance at the Factory! 工厂里的临时爱情！ Wang Dali had just left his rural hometown to find work in the city. After his night shift, he returned to his rented room. As he snapped the key in the lock, he heard a woman's cries from inside. From that day on, life opened up an entirely new world for him. Every day that followed was an adventure. 289Reads6.7Score—14d adds
- 130 My Nearly Forty CEO Wife 我的奔四总裁小娇妻 The second volume is out now. Come back for more! Follow the author's page and add the book to your library so you won't lose track of it!!! I'm Ma Ming, male, 21, and currently a university student. I can do 600 push-ups in one go. I can do 500 sit-ups in one go. I run every day to stay fit, and I'm good at both singing and dancing. I can down five large glasses of beer, eight glasses of red wine, and three glasses of whiskey in one sitting... “Let's not get sidetracked. Here's the deal: I have 3.9kReads9.4Score24414d adds
- 131 Where There's Light in Your Heart, There's a Road Beneath Your Feet 心中有光脚下就有路 Where There Is Light in Your Heart, There Is a Path Beneath Your Feet —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 132 Together Beneath the Clock Flowers 时钟花的相伴 [No System, No Rebirth] + [Everyday Cohabitation] + [One Female Lead] + [Childhood Sweethearts] + [Multiple Perspectives, Ensemble Cast, and Romance] + [Grounded in Reality] Related by blood? Sure, we're a little close, but the Marriage Law allows it!!! Xiang Gu turned twenty-two, and the very next day, on Tong Mengmeng's twenty-second birthday, they got their marriage licenses. Love between childhood sweethearts isn't a matter of falling for each other over time. It's love at first sight, with 13Reads8.8Score—14d adds
- 133 October's Gentle Breeze 十月微风起 Lin Muqing, a warm and cheerful middle school Chinese teacher, was accosted by a thief on her way home from school. Fortunately, Ji Shaofeng, a criminal police officer passing by, came to her rescue. A man of few words but great reliability, he appeared at her most helpless moment and became part of her life from then on. From a chance encounter on the street to a confession at home, from strangers to people who understand each other, this is a story of an ordinary meeting and a gentle love. The 24Reads—Score—14d adds
- 134 Deep in the Clouds, Qingye; At Peace in My Thoughts, at Peace in My Heart 云深有清野，念安心自安 [A slow-burn small-town romance] [Long-haired, foxlike guitarist x overly composed, insecure female bookworm] [Yearning and push-and-pull] [They save each other] Xu Nian'an quits a dead-end job, only to be abandoned by her boyfriend of six years. Leaving behind a letter, she flees with a heart full of despair to Yunshen Town, a remote mountain town. She thinks all that remains of her life is learning to heal, unaware that the man who is always silent in the shadows and occasionally sharp-tongued 32Reads—Score—14d adds
- 135 Kisses on a Beijing Night 京夜有吻 The rating was just posted, so don't worry about it! [Unrequited Love | Mutual Pining After Reunion | Powerful Family Background] Xiao Ning had received praise her whole life. She came from a good family, did well in school, had a successful career, and had the face of everyone's first love. With her parents' protection and support, as well as her own hard work, she rose higher and higher, with nothing but smooth sailing ahead. The one place she hit a wall was marriage, which plunged her into de 11.2kReads8.9Score1k14d adds
- 136 Forty and Bewildered: A Single Mother and a Shattered Elite 四十有惑：单亲妈妈与破碎精英 At forty, all that remains of his life is a countdown. With a promise to meet again at seventy, she tries to bring light to his shattered world. Shi Xiaoran, a divorced mother, discovers on her first day at her new job that her boss is a “monster”: he gives her lessons, assigns her homework, and treats her as his successor. Only later does she learn that this elite managing director, whom his subordinates call “Jiang the Butcher,” is trapped by a fortune told twenty-two years ago. Paroxetine is —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 137 Chronicles of Crossing the Sea of Suffering 渡苦纪 A true story, an autobiographical account. Born in the mountains, raised by a single parent, I had a lonely and difficult childhood. A widow and her six children, dropping out of school, sleeping in a pigsty. I left home at fourteen. At fifteen, I was set up and nearly married off to a deaf-mute man of utterly vile character. After the wedding, I raised twins while living in a rabbit hutch. I encountered a demonic ex-husband and endured every kind of hardship over the course of forty years. Afte 149Reads—Score—14d adds
- 138 No Lamps, No Moon, So What? 无灯无月又何妨 If two hearts understand each other, what need have they for lamps or moonlight? If one day we’re caught in the same snow, then we’ll have shared a lifetime of gray hair. Even if we lived together in perfect harmony, there would still be regrets! May you weather every storm and still keep the light in your eyes, never straying from your original purpose. 39Reads7.6Score—14d adds
- 139 What's Got You So Proud? 你牛什么牛 Also known as The Yueyue’s Terrible Mother-in-Law. Through the story of an unusually strong-willed woman’s life, this novel offers a profound look at the dialectical relationship between personality and fate. From many angles, it examines the rise of extreme feminism in contemporary society. It also gives serious thought to marriage and romance, raising children, and human relationships in the modern world. It offers important guidance for a new generation in the twenty-first century on developi 12Reads—Score—14d adds
- 140 A Depressed Person's Soliloquy 抑郁者的独白 An inner monologue from someone living with depression. Just as her life was about to wither away, the will to live drove her to break free with all her strength from the invisible chains holding her back. Suddenly, she understood that there are many ways to live. This book can also be seen as the author's own journey of redemption and healing through a life on the road. It also introduces the scenery and local culture of the places she visited. 43Reads—Score—14d adds
- 141 You Came to Me on a Sunny Day 你从晴天来 4kReads9.2Score31914d adds
- 142 Married First, Fell in Love Later: My Wife Is from the Republic of China Era 先婚后爱我媳妇来自民国 A Republican-era inheritor of Lu embroidery vs. the modern head of a Lu embroidery company She comes from 1935, when the nation was lost and the land was ravaged by suffering. When the Japanese set their sights on her family’s treasured legacy, she would rather die than surrender, determined to stab one of them through the heart before she went. She thought she was as good as dead, but instead she found herself at a wedding, and she was the bride? The man looked down at her, his voice pitched ju 101Reads—Score—14d adds
- 143 The Year the Wutong Rain Fell 那一年梧桐雨落 Young love, charging headlong into a relationship at an age when you don't yet understand love. I always regretted how one relationship ended, and it wasn't until years later that I learned there was another version of the story from back then. 14Reads—Score—14d adds
- 144 Foolish Mother 傻娘 My father was dead, my mother had gone mad. The day I came home, I saw someone destroying it... 43.1kReads9.0Score1.3k14d adds
- 145 A Land of Auspicious Feng Shui 风水宝地 A beautiful encounter quietly unfolds on a youthful college campus. The hero and heroine meet and grow close during their university days, but a misunderstanding sadly drives their hearts farther and farther apart. After graduation, they each set out on a new journey in life, yet neither can forget the feelings buried deep within. Feng Shui Treasure Land tells a turbulent love story. As the hero continues searching along the path of growing up, he finally understands who he truly loves. He brave 11Reads—Score614d adds
- 146 The Cold-Faced Officer's White Moonlight 冷面军官的白月光 That night, they sat on the steps outside the photography studio, eating wontons. The July heat in Shanghai was stifling as a steamer, and cicadas poured their cries from the plane trees’ canopies, spreading them across the ground. Shen Zhi prodded a wonton with her chopsticks, then suddenly asked, “How did you get by during those two years in Yemen?” 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 147 A Romance at a Shenzhen Factory 深圳工厂情缘 My new story is here! You’re welcome to read it on Tomato Novel. I hope you’ll enjoy it. Your support motivates me to write, and I’ll do my best to tell every story well! 3kReads8.9Score21814d adds
- 148 Women on the Career Ladder 职场路上的女人们 Amid the shifting tides of the crowded world, people are always boarding ships and leaving them behind. When they came riding the waves, they carried unspoken obsessions. When they turned away, the hems of their robes swept up the stars, while the warmth frozen in their palms seeped forever into the course of the voyage. 857Reads7.1Score10414d adds
- 149 A Different Kind of Youth 不一样的青春味道 Everything came so suddenly, as brief as dew... But she had to learn to accept the unexpected losses life brings: spilled milk, a lost wallet, a friendship broken, a lover gone astray... Overnight, her stable career was swept into a tangled struggle of competing interests, and she nearly lost her job... In a single day, the boyfriend she had loved for years turned and walked away, with a reason that sounded so noble... In an instant, one look seemed to last a lifetime. You suddenly appeared befo 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 150 Two Couples Under One Roof After Remarriage 二婚家里的两对恋人 Kindhearted Qianqian is wooed by Yi Li, a rich second-generation heir. Her mother is then married by Yi Li's father, leaving the blended family with two couples in love. Qianqian gives birth to a son, their first child, and then triplets, one girl and two boys. She also accepts the daughter Yi Li ends up having after someone else schemes against him. How will all this affect her? Read the story and find out... 24Reads—Score—14d adds
