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.
- 151 His Insatiable Desire, Her Ordeal 他的欲壑，她的劫难 Shen Yu risked her life to give birth to a son. Seven years later, Qiao Feng still cheated on her. Shen Yu’s best friend, Du Xiaoyun, had gradually found peace of mind in her sexless marriage. She asked Shen Yu, who had decisively divorced: If that woman hadn’t seduced him, would he have betrayed your marriage? He would. Why? Because he has no principles… A person with no principles when it comes to marriage will never be faithful to it. Does marriage require fidelity? It does. Getting married 2.2kReads8.1Score17014d adds
- 152 Ink Marks on the Heart 墨痕印心 At a celebration banquet in City B, top consultant Jiang Mo suddenly loses her ability to speak. She flees to her family’s old home in Huizhou, where she meets Xu Yinqing, a restorer of ancient books and paintings. A fast-paced executive meets a craftsman who takes life slowly. As she restores objects, she begins to heal herself. A sky-high job offer and an old crisis come knocking at the same time. Will she choose the high-pressure executive path, or restore herself? 9Reads—Score—14d adds
- 153 Starting from Scratch: Three Years Flipping Little Boxes Made Me a Millionaire 白手起家，倒腾小盒子三年千万 Selling contraceptives in the dorm from the start gets you mocked? Disciplined? No problem! Make money while teaching in the countryside. After four years of hard work, build a fortune worth over a hundred million, turning ideals, love, and wealth into reality. [No Transmigration + No System + No Pocket Dimension + A Down-to-Earth Story of Striving] 12.6kReads8.1Score93514d adds
- 154 The Dust of Mortal Life 尘事 This book chronicles a family across a hundred years. An illiterate country woman is forced to abandon her newborn child, then wanders from place to place amid the chaos of a turbulent era, struggling to survive in the cracks. Told as a work of documentary fiction, this story depicts the joys and sorrows of several generations of an ordinary family, bringing a long-buried past to light. Let posterity decide who was right and who was wrong! 2.1kReads8.9Score18314d adds
- 155 Human Life Lies Deep in the Loess 黄土深处是人间 This is a collection of true stories from the countryside. One book captures a century of life in all its variety on the Loess Plateau. Brotherhood, the warmth and coldness of family, partings in life and death, and the changes of an era: one independent story after another weaves together the fates of several generations. There is hardship, pain, tears, and warmth, portraying the struggles of those at the bottom as well as the resilience of ordinary people. There are no chosen-one advantages an 111Reads—Score—14d adds
- 156 Love, Hate, and Old Feuds Between Two Generations 两代人的爱恨情仇恩怨 She is determined to uncover the truth behind her mother’s death, but her stepmother and stepsister frame her, plunging her into danger time and again! She escapes certain doom, and is fortunate to meet business tycoon Qin Haonan, who falls for her at first sight and pursues her… People reveal different sides of themselves when it comes to love and family, and a single thought can lead to heaven or hell! Good and evil both get what they deserve, and fate always comes full circle! Those who commi 15Reads—Score—14d adds
- 157 The Night Is Hungry, and There’s No Escaping His Possessiveness 夜色贪婪，逃不开他的占有 After her fiancé and best friend joined forces to take everything from her, Su Xiaoran fell from the clouds into the mud. In her moment of despair, she stumbled into Gu Haifeng's arms. The man gripped her chin and said in a low voice, “From today on, you're mine.” The scumbag and the bitch? She'll make sure they lose everything and end up disgraced! As for this powerful tycoon? Su Xiaoran only wants to run, but he pins her in a corner, possessiveness overflowing. “Running? Where do you think you 614Reads—Score—14d adds
- 158 A True-Love Warrior's Adventures in Society 纯爱战神社会历险记 Beijing suburbs, 2006. A beat-up van, a guy at the wheel, the school beauty in the front seat, and 17-year-old Chen Mo in the back. He didn't dare look at her. All he could do was breathe in the scent of cream-cake shampoo in her hair. Whenever the van jolted, her hair brushed his face, and he sat rigid, afraid to move. Back then, he thought liking someone was enough. Then the school beauty pulled out a brand-new tarot deck and asked him to read her love fortune. He thought she was finally looki 17Reads8.1Score114d adds
- 159 Loving You from Afar 站在远处爱 Liang Qingtong is new to the workplace and deeply admires Lu Chengyang, an industry role model. That exceptional man is her idol, her dream guy. By chance, she becomes his subordinate, and before she knows it, she seems to have fallen for him. He is decisive and efficient at work, but when it comes to love, he has no idea what he’s doing! We’re all just a bunch of unfortunate people: we can’t have the ones we love, we don’t cherish the ones we have, and when we’re together, we suspect each other 67Reads—Score—14d adds
- 160 Spring Winds in Winter 冬季有春风 [Female Growth] [Childhood Sweethearts] [Turning the Tables Against the Odds] [Realistic] A girl battered by her dysfunctional family wants nothing more than to save the naive young boy who loves her. Life in the cramped alleyways is always the same, while the surging tide of the times takes everyone by surprise. In the winter at the end of the century, the gears of Xu Chunfeng's fate quietly began to turn. 3.1kReads8.0Score12714d adds
- 161 My Father's Era of the Fortress Villages 父亲的崮时代 Yimeng Mountain is a work of documentary fiction about the second generation of military-industry workers, telling the true story of the mysterious “Third Front” military factories. It retraces how the children of Third Front workers and their parents pressed on through successive waves of change. “Good people and good horses head to the Third Front.” The companies were reorganized and moved out of the mountains... They rose from the ashes as a red-culture base, as the home of China’s peaches, a 10Reads6.9Score—14d adds
- 162 Happiness, or the Lack of It 幸福不幸福 If memories were a game, Happiness would have died many times over. If reality were a game, Happiness would often be left battered and bruised. She wanders the streets of memory, where every shop is shuttered. It seems this world has no room for Happiness. Even as she scrapes by, enduring harsh words and cold looks, she still isn’t ready to give up... 142Reads—Score—14d adds
- 163 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 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 164 The Matchmaker’s Comic and Tragic Fate 红娘啼笑因缘 A matchmaker who transmigrated, still so young and already arranging marriages. What a farcical situation! The matchmaker Hongniang in the Peking opera The Story of the Western Wing is famous for helping lovers find happiness. Could a real-life matchmaker actually be the reincarnation of the Hongniang from The Story of the Western Wing? Can the Book of Changes really predict love and marriage? 9Reads7.0Score114d adds
- 165 Four Beauties of the Bureau 机关四美图 In the cafeteria of a government office in a small county town, amid the idle gossip over tea and meals, they were labeled as failures: divorced, raising children alone, and stumbling through the mire of life. They rebuilt order amid the wreckage and became their own shelter through every storm. Beneath the lamplight late at night, they soothed their children to sleep while planning the next day's schedule. Before the morning alarm rang, breakfast was already prepared. They were no longer anyon 117Reads8.9Score—14d adds
- 166 A First Love Nine Years in the Making 懵懂九年的初恋 A Naive First Love of Nine Years 12Reads—Score114d adds
- 167 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, 25Reads—Score—14d adds
- 168 Uncovering the Past of the ‘Third-Line’ Defense Industry Workers 揭秘:“小三线”军工人的往事 A Look Back at the Past of the “Third-Line” Defense Industry Workers 15Reads—Score114d adds
- 169 Miss Cheng, Do You Plan to Stay Single Forever? 程小姐，你打算一直单身吗？ [Elite Family] [Cute Child] [Workplace] [My Life Is on the Line, and My Rich Boyfriend Has a Secret Identity] [Stay Single or Become a Rich Wife? That's the Question] [Clearheaded, well-behaved female engineer * sharp-tongued, flirtatious heir cast out by a wealthy family] [He nearly cost her life back then. For the rest of his life, all he wants is her.] Volume One, Seven Days of Grace: The leads reunite overseas because a piece of equipment needs servicing. Over the course of just seven days, 261Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 170 There Was a Girl Named Xiaohua 有个女孩叫小花 My new work is here! You’re welcome to read it on Tomato Novel. I hope you’ll enjoy it. Your support inspires me to write, and I’ll do my best to tell every story well! This book captures some of the culture and food of rural northern Fujian in the 1980s and 1990s. Follow Xiaohua and her family as they work hard and lead warm, ordinary lives. No exaggeration, melodrama, or foolish antics. It’s not a feel-good power fantasy, and there’s no rebirth or transmigration. There’s no golden finger, just 33Reads8.9Score—14d adds
- 171 Surviving in a Martial Arts World 在武侠世界求生 Surviving in a Martial Arts World 14Reads—Score—14d adds
- 172 Love Among the Mountains and Rivers 山水情 (Urban slice of life, inspirational growth, a nostalgic era, rich in detail) The beauty of mountains and rivers, the many faces of humanity, the fickleness of the world. The protagonist, Jiang Nan, knows right from wrong and values loyalty and affection. He grows from a poor boy who suffers humiliation into a fine young man admired by everyone. This story is grounded in real life, with family bonds, friendship, romance, and a deep love for his hometown. He leads the villagers to prosperity, ris 14.6kReads9.1Score1.6k14d adds
- 173 Before Him, After You 在他之前，在你之后 “Maybe you think too highly of me,” she said. He looked into her eyes. “No one is loved because they’re that wonderful.” “Then why?” “Because they’re the right fit!” 1.5kReads9.2Score18014d adds
- 174 I Turned My Vegetative Wife's Workplace Upside Down 我替植物人老婆整顿职场 The protagonist is a top student and highly educated, but his day job is backbreaking construction work. He married a perfect wife, and their life together was pretty good. But one day, disaster struck: his wife attempted suicide and became a vegetable... After learning that workplace bullying had driven his wife to take her own life, “I” quit my day job and successfully applied for a position at her former workplace. With my own hard work and the help of a mysterious System, I track down the pe 39Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 175 A Working Stiff's Little Journal 打工小记 Urban daily life + earning a living through hard work + multiple heroines + healing The story of an ordinary wage earner: from drifting to Guangzhou to drifting to Beijing, from Shaoxing to Foshan and then to Majiaqiao in Beijing. Fifteen years in all. See how a worker at the bottom makes his way through life... I went south at fifteen and drifted north at thirty. The fiercest gamble of my life took fifteen years to pay for. Over those fifteen years, I worked in an electronics factory, served 43Reads—Score—14d adds
- 176 The Frail Powerhouse Is Determined to Play It Safe 病弱大佬她一心求稳 [Reunion x Both Leads Are Chaste] She was the “traitor” he had spent eight years searching for and eight years hating, and also the protector who had never left his side. Eight years ago, Tang Ling was plunged into despair and broke up with Jiang Huaizhi, determined to end things. She thought it was the only way to protect him. Eight years later, after enduring countless hardships, Tang Ling joined Yantong Tech as an ordinary programmer, appearing before Jiang Huaizhi, now the group’s CEO. She w 168Reads—Score1214d adds
- 177 Never Mess with a Pisces Woman 千万不要招惹双鱼座女生 [Workplace] [Urban Life] [Marriage Before Love] Mumu is a Pisces woman who entered the workplace with two labels already attached to her: timid and easy to bully. But no one knows that beneath the soft exterior of a Pisces lies the heart of a great demon king. When everyone thinks she’ll be swallowed up by the workplace, Mumu proves to the world through her actions: Don’t make a Pisces cry, because once she’s done crying, it’ll be your turn. This novel could also be called Mumu’s Rise to the Top 140Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 178 Like You in Early Spring 初春如你 An office romance was a strict taboo Shu Xinran had set for herself, especially with Ji Ran, who was ten years younger. She had finally escaped her broken marriage and spent eight years enjoying her solitude. By now, she saw love as a luxury and wanted nothing to do with it. For the rest of her life, she only wanted a peaceful, steady existence. She didn’t want anyone disrupting her rhythm again. This early spring should have been just like any other. But she never expected that this spring woul 106Reads—Score—14d adds
- 179 Reunion: A Dream Ten Years in the Making 相见欢之十年一梦 In this life, we will all face heartbreak, regret, and waiting. But there will always be someone who crosses a sea of people, carrying a heart full of tenderness, to love you. I want to write about all the deep love and redemption in this world, hoping that within these stories, you will find your own light. The book Meet Again tells the story of Zhang Yifan as he enters the working world, starting with a street stall, moving on to a fast-food restaurant, and eventually joining a real estate co 7Reads—Score314d adds
- 180 My Doctor Lin 我的林医生 [A blend of sweetness and heartbreak + slow burn + delicate prose + a working woman’s growth + episodic format] Radiologist Lin Xiaoya can see every bone in the human body, yet she can’t read the heart of the person in front of her. Other people’s love is a two-way journey, but theirs is a tale of mutual misunderstanding... 108Reads—Score—14d adds
- 181 A Pink Summer 粉红色的夏天 Xia Xiaomei and her classmates Chen Yusheng and Lin Ling went to Sencheng to take over a tiny advertising agency. Looking for somewhere quiet to live, Xia Xiaomei rented a room in a house built by the Li family, where she met the male lead, Li Hangyu. Xia Xiaomei's best friend, Xia Lingmei, had gone to Sencheng to work after graduating from middle school. Now that Xia Xiaomei had moved there too, the two friends could be together again. Li Hangyu was rich, handsome, and tall, the prince charming 7Reads—Score114d adds
- 182 A Woman's Journey Through Marriage 女人与婚姻的经历 [Female-Oriented + Modern Romance + Workplace and Marriage + Flash Marriage + Realistic Family Life] [Women, Love, and Marriage | A True Account of Marriage | Women’s Growth | Emotional Resonance] Before the grief of losing her mother had even faded, Xinyang was pressured by her whole family to get married and rushed into a flash marriage. She found her hastily chosen partner through a radio station and gave up the career she loved to throw herself into the daily grind of married life. She thou 41Reads—Score—14d adds
- 183 A Seventies Kid’s Diary 70后的青春日记 The author’s real diary: the youth, school life, and everyday moments of the 1990s, along with her growing pains and struggles of the heart. The story follows an ordinary girl as she grows up. It is quiet and true to life. This is not a rural story. I didn’t know how to categorize it when I started writing; it’s about youth and school life. The heroine grows up in a family that favors boys over girls. In middle school, her mother would beat and scold her for no reason, even abuse her, and she de 9Reads—Score—14d adds
- 184 Goddess Yang Chengcheng's Journey to the Mortal World 女神杨橙橙凡间降落之路 Female lead: Yang Chengcheng. Male lead: Yun Feng. This story is divided into three volumes. Volume One has ten chapters. Three years after Yang Chengcheng and Yun Feng break up, Yang Chengcheng meets Yang Long on a blind date. After a series of upheavals in his family, Yang Long’s sincerity finally moves her, and the two get married. Volume Two is told through flashbacks. At seventeen, Yang Chengcheng meets Yun Fengye, an art studio teacher. They are drawn to each other and fall in love. They s 20Reads—Score—14d adds
- 185 After the Divorce, Her Springtime Begins 离婚后，她的春天来了 After Tang Ning got pregnant, she quit her job and became a full-time housewife. She thought she would live an ordinary life, but a single condom shattered her peaceful existence. Faced with her husband's affair and his mistress pressuring him to marry her, should Tang Ning stay in a loveless marriage for the sake of her child, or divorce her husband for her own sake? 2.5kReads8.9Score25614d adds
- 186 When Will I Come of Age? The Campus Arc 何时而立之校园篇 This story, based on real people, is the first installment in the When Will I Come of Age series: When Will I Come of Age: Campus Days. It follows the events in the life of the protagonist, He Li, during his university years, including his daily life, studies, and romance. His self-discipline in both life and study ultimately takes him to the top of his academic field. The novel feels so authentic that readers can relate to it and feel as though they’re right there in the story. Its gripping plo 5Reads—Score—14d adds
- 187 Everyday Love 恋恋日常 The night before she was supposed to meet his parents, Xu Yuan’s boyfriend of six years broke up with her. In a fit of spite, she posted on her social feed: “Whoever can make it to my place by tomorrow morning, I’ll get engaged to him.” Chen Xingyu replied in an instant: “I’m in.” At eight the next morning, he showed up right on time with a huge bouquet of lilies: impeccably dressed in a suit, with a bright smile. Meanwhile, her ex, who had never once introduced her to his family in six years, d 320Reads—Score—14d adds
- 188 Cool Lips 凉唇 [Don't scroll away when you see the rating. There was a problem with the rating system just after launch; it actually deserves five stars across the board. Please give it a rating, and thank you.] [Beautifully written, with plenty of substance. Recommended for readers 30 and up.] [Realistic urban workplace + reunion after years apart + secret love becomes mutual] [Sapiosexual romance + two equally matched leads + strong female lead] For five years, they stood side by side as investment-world ris 4.6kReads6.1Score33914d adds
- 189 I Refuse to Marry into a Wealthy Family. I'll Take My Child and Marry a Country Man 拒入豪门，我带娃嫁给乡下人 An IT engineer from a small town studies hard, works diligently, turns down a wealthy family’s marriage proposal, and goes abroad to study. Even after unexpectedly becoming a single mother, she never stops growing. She makes a dazzling transformation into an investment banking star… The only thing that drives her crazy is the child’s father, a young man from a small town who’s two years younger than her. He pursues her relentlessly, but what can she do? Love isn’t something you can achieve just 847Reads8.9Score10314d adds
- 190 Hai Nange's Second Book 海楠哥的第2本书 [Work + romance + plot + personal growth + lighthearted everyday life] Xu Liangfeng had just graduated from high school when he went to the big city to look for work. He ran into setback after setback, but he didn't lose heart and kept working hard. As he changed jobs frequently, he learned plenty of practical skills. Still, at every workplace, his managers both loved and hated him. They loved his competence and his humble, sincere nature, but hated how argumentative he could be. “Liangfeng, can 276Reads—Score—14d adds
- 191 Taking Life as It Comes 随遇而安的我 When we were young, many girls longed for a Prince Charming who would stay by their side until they grew old together. I was no exception. I don't know what a perfect life is, but I know this: Chen Xi must meet Yu Jinyu and live a life of peace and happiness. 8Reads—Score114d adds
- 192 A Review of This Life 复盘今生 Wang Yuhan once had a happy family. He and his wife, Yu Meixia, were both teachers. They excelled at their jobs, had a son and a daughter, and were the envy of everyone. But then, one day, it all vanished. If you were the protagonist, how would you react? How would you face betrayal by the person you love and trust most? Drawing on a deep understanding of life, the author tells a moving, vivid story of love and loss, life and death, and tangled passions in plain, flowing prose. The story also ra 808Reads8.8Score10114d adds
- 193 Junior Brother, Don’t Be Like This 师弟，你别这样 The day Ye Xiucheng reports for duty at Qiaonan Community Clinic, everyone asks him, “Why would a graduate of a top medical university come to a poor, remote place like this?” He just smiles without answering. He can’t tell them why he came here: It’s because of his beliefs, and because of his senior, Su Xixi. He thought she would always be by his side. That is, until the new vice president, Liang Shuo, tells her, “If something’s weighing on you, you can talk to me.” Ye Xiucheng finally panics. 99Reads—Score—14d adds
- 194 The Underworld of a Small Town 小镇江湖 Summer, 1997. Chengxiang Town, Sichuan. Chen Dong, a young hoodlum, guarantees a loan for someone and ends up owing thirty thousand yuan, unaware that it is all a trap set by Bai Laosan. What Bai Laosan wants is the storefront his family owns in the heart of the old-town redevelopment zone. Lawyers, police officers, and thugs armed with paint take turns showing up at his door... With nowhere left to turn, Chen Dong clings to one stubborn belief: the shop is the last spark he can give Ye Qiong, a 41Reads—Score10614d adds
- 195 Mistakenly Climbing into a Life of Luxury 误攀浮华 I just got a notification from the platform that this is being adapted into a comic drama! This is not the same old story!!! You'll be captivated by the protagonists' charm, especially the male lead! [Guiding male lead | Not a domineering CEO | Realistic | Down-to-earth | Not over-the-top | Slow burn | No angst | Funny] [Sharp-dressed, devilishly handsome boss with a thousand schemes & pure, obedient girl who refuses to cling to the powerful] Original title: Mistakenly Climbing into the World of 28.9kReads9.1Score3.4k14d adds
- 196 The Pretty Widow of Peach Blossom Creek, Loved by a Young Man 桃花溪的俏寡妇，小年轻爱上她 The night twenty-two-year-old Li Yuchuan returned to his village, he stumbled upon a woman bathing by Peach Blossom Creek. In the moonlight, her skin glowed white. Water slid from her collarbone to the small of her back. She tipped her head back to toss her hair, then flicked out her tongue to lick a drop of water from the corner of her mouth. That one little movement nearly made his soul fly away. Later, he learned she was the “jinx” everyone in the village talked about. Jiang Yuwei. Thirty-fiv 3kReads—Score17114d adds
- 197 A Spring Rainy Night Like the Sound of Mountains 一夜春雨似山鸣 [A devoted, restrained media mogul vs. a cool, distant career queen] [Fated connection | Emotional growth | Love that grows over time | A slow and steady romance | Sweet yet heartbreaking | A realistic slow burn] A year ago, two people who had each lost the one they loved met by chance in the drizzle after a funeral. He saw the desolate fragments in her eyes. She saw the icy lake in his. A borrowed flame warmed them for a brief moment. She thought it was nothing more than a fleeting encounter 105Reads9.4Score—14d adds
- 198 Reborn in 2008, Saving Myself with 110 from the Start! 重生08年，开局110自救！ Reborn + childbirth + real and fake young masters + sweet romance + cozy life + raising a child Xin Yuan realizes she seems to have died and been reborn. Other people are reborn in the 1960s or 1970s. She wakes up one day and finds herself reborn in early 2008. That year, she and her husband, both orphans, are separated from each other. That year, they are forced to lose their home and family. The first thing she does after waking up reborn is call the police. "Hello, 110? We've run into human t 54Reads—Score214d adds
- 199 Betrayal Beneath the Collarbone 锁骨之下的背叛 Betrayal Beneath the Collarbone 67Reads—Score—14d adds
- 200 A Million-Dollar Dream for a Temp Girl 零工女孩的百万理想 Fang Tang is suddenly laid off at the end of the year, and it feels as if the sky has fallen. At 28, she’s unmarried, unemployed, and has barely any savings. Standing among the towering buildings and rushing traffic, she feels lost and helpless. What should she do next? What can she even do? She packs her things and returns to her village. At her first meal back, her mother says, “If you don’t have a job, get married!” Fang Tang looks up at her mother, whose hair has already gone gray at the tem 36.1kReads9.0Score4.4k14d adds
