Novels like Xu Gongming's Unfulfilled First Half of Life
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Xu Gongming's Unfulfilled First Half of Life, best match first.
- 151 At the Source of the Peach Blossom Spring 桃花源头 As Old Zhou Nian lay dying, he took Zhou Liye by the hand and told him, “Xiaoye, it's up to you to carry on the Zhou family line. If you trace our family back far enough, we go all the way to the Zhou dynasty, to King Wen of Zhou, King Wu of Zhou, Ji Chang, and Ji Fa. Our ancestors were once members of the imperial family, and our original surname was Ji. It was only after the dynasties changed that our family took the surname Zhou! Here's our ancestral genealogy and the family heirloom, this ja 103.5kReads7.8Score9.4k14d adds
- 152 My Lady, Please Get in the Car 我的大小姐请上车 My Lady, Please Get in the Car —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 153 A Sophisticated Rogue in Officialdom 官场雅痞 What kind of people does the present age need? People who hold to their principles even when faced with temptation. People who face the surging tide of the times, raise the red flag, and press on through adversity. Li Huaijie is one such idealist. “To go far by proceeding steadily” requires the steadiness of “treating challenges with caution and succeeding through careful planning,” and the vision of “aspiring to great heights.” He has risen from the very bottom, using his actions to embody the 50.8kReads8.9Score3.7k14d adds
- 154 The Golden Phoenix Isn't a Chicken 金凤不是鸡 An age when lovers were everywhere, an era dominated by online loans, and the emotional high of a night at a karaoke club… Wealth became the sole measure of success, affection turned into a bargaining chip, and labels of status rose above personal character. Amid the drunken, glittering world, he and she were drawn into a chain of scams woven from money, power, and desire. Each tried to stake a lifetime of innocence on finding an answer to the question, “I’m not a prostitute.” They were willing 315Reads9.3Score3014d adds
- 155 An Unforgettable Romance at the Factory 工厂里的难忘爱情 Xu Bo heads to the city to find work, where he meets a girl from a neighboring village. They travel to the city together and find jobs. At the factory, the female boss takes a liking to him, and from then on, good fortune keeps coming his way. He rises from a workshop worker to workshop supervisor, and eventually is forced to start his own factory. His life becomes anything but ordinary. This is a story that feels grounded in real life, with sorrow and joy, laughter and tears. The plot never dra 44kReads9.0Score2.2k14d adds
- 156 A Female Feng Shui Master's Work Diary 一个女风水师的工作日志 The author met a feng shui master and exchanged contact information with her. After seeing her work journal, the author found some of its contents worth reading. They also carry on traditional culture, so the author is sharing them here with her permission. 435Reads8.2Score—14d adds
- 157 The Reborn Optician 重生的眼镜店老板 (Not a single heroine) (Entrepreneurship + investment + no stock or futures trading) (No System, no cultivation) After years of suffering from illness, Shen Ci, a bespectacled shopkeeper who had no one in his life, was reborn in 2002. He was once again the spirited young man he had been back then. Given a second chance, he didn't want to leave any more regrets behind: His childhood sweetheart and adoptive older sister, the woman who had waited for him for years, and all those things he couldn't 6.1kReads7.7Score39214d adds
- 158 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
- 159 The Number One Brother 一哥 The short drama A Brother is now streaming on Hongguo, with a surprise in store! I used to be a gang boss. Now I’m just a food delivery rider. Ever since I could remember, my father, a former soldier, had been a drunk with a nasty temper. Whenever he got drunk, he liked to beat my mother, often leaving her black and blue. Later, my parents divorced, and while trying to earn money for tuition, I went astray! I had no choice back then. Now, I just want to be a good person! 32.1kReads9.3Score1.7k14d adds
- 160 Reborn in 2008: This Time, I'm Taking Off! 重生2008，这波我要起飞！ After nearly becoming a complete sucker who took the fall for someone else, Yang Fan is reborn. He's had enough of the miserable life he lived in his previous life. This time, he'll make money, get foot massages... and live life to the fullest! Successful men wear watches. Mature men wear jade bracelets. Yang Fan is determined to become a mature man. Note: This is a slow-burn story, not a brainless power fantasy. Please don't read if that's not your thing. 14kReads7.8Score1k14d adds
- 161 This Guy Is a Bit of a Rascal 这个家伙有点坏 [No formulaic plot][Not a wish-fulfillment story][No cheat abilities][Traditional][Realistic][Period][Countryside][Hardship] A boy who is both bad and good, a family made up of people with no blood ties, a difficult yet sweet golden age, and a story full of humor and warmth... Beginning in the 1980s, this novel spans forty years and strives to recreate the changes of the times, telling the story of one person's growth. Above all, this is a realistic story, with both sweetness and heartbreak. Rea 69kReads9.3Score7k14d adds
- 162 Thunderous Crackdown on Black Crime in the Political Arena 官场之雷霆扫黑 The chessboard of power, every move calculated, every step taken on thin ice. No matter how cautious you are, you can never guard against everything. Li Yan, a community officer at a local police station, starts from the very bottom. He refuses to buckle under pressure and fears no powerful figures. With thunderous force, he uproots every criminal gang and underworld faction. Step by step, he rises to the pinnacle of power! 86.9kReads8.2Score6.5k14d adds
- 163 After Losing My Job, I Took Odd Jobs in Xiaoqi 失业后，在小气打零工 His wife betrays him, and his career hits a dead end. Ye Feng becomes a part-time massage therapist. After his first client arrives, Ye Feng's life takes a strange and unpredictable turn. There is no System in this book...! 8.2kReads6.8Score49814d adds
- 164 On the Day He Proposed, His Fiancée Told Her Boss, “Let Him Take the Fall. He’s Honest and Easy to Fool” 求婚当天，未婚妻对上司说：让他接盘吧，他老实好骗 On the day I proposed, my fiancée told her boss, “Let him take over. He’s honest and easy to fool.” 497Reads—Score—14d adds
- 165 The Angler's 8th Book 喜欢摸鱼的的第8本书 A meteor shower from beyond the skies brought a bio-virus that swept across the globe and crippled electronic devices. Modern civilization collapsed overnight. The apocalypse arrived. The land was overrun by the walking dead, and anguished cries rang through the skies. As everyone sank into despair and chaos, Qin Zheng, a deputy county magistrate assigned to a remote county, became the only leader there capable of taking charge. The trials of his career and the wisdom he had gained over two life 1.8kReads8.3Score9914d adds
- 166 After My Wife Gave All Our Savings to Her Brother, I Sold Our Marital Home 妻子把积蓄都给了弟弟后，我卖掉了婚房 After My Wife Gave All Our Savings to Her Younger Brother, I Sold Our Marital Home 208Reads—Score—14d adds
- 167 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
- 168 The School of Mind in the Ming Dynasty 大明心学 This is a sweeping historical novel starring Wang Yangming. The story begins with Wang Yangming’s birth in 1471, the seventh year of the Chenghua era, and ends with his death aboard a boat in Nanan, Jiangxi, in 1529, the seventh year of the Jiajing era. Spanning fifty-eight years, the novel paints a vivid, panoramic portrait of the extraordinary life of one of the Ming dynasty’s greatest figures: the omens surrounding his birth, his youthful ambitions, his enlightenment at Longchang, his campai 1Reads—Score114d adds
- 169 The History of an Embroidered Bed 绣榻野史 “The Embroidered Couch” alludes to the secrets hidden deep within women's quarters and behind brocade curtains, while “Unofficial History” signals that this book recounts court intrigues and street-side tales absent from the official record, passed around by the common folk. Through the case of an honest family in Jiangnan forced into prostitution, the novel lays bare the dark picture of the Jiajing era of the Great Ming, where officials and merchants collude, corruption runs rampant, and the pe 1.6kReads—Score13614d adds
- 170 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. 3kReads8.0Score12714d adds
- 171 The Young Traveler 少年行 In that moment, I truly understood why the poor stay poor. It isn't because we don't work hard enough. It's because of the environment we live in, the resources we have, our narrow-mindedness, and the few, fragile opportunities available to us. All of it traps my impoverished family in a struggle just to survive! I gave everything I had for a chance to “change my fate,” yet a single storm was enough to destroy it! 24.6kReads9.1Score2.6k14d adds
- 172 A Career in the County Committee Compound 县委大院之仕途 Yunhu? Xu Yuanzhou's eyes widened in disbelief! Being sent to remote, impoverished Yunhu was neither a promotion in disguise nor a demotion. It counted as a lateral move, but... 24.7kReads9.3Score2.7k14d adds
- 173 After I Was Pushed Out in All but Name, the Whole Company Begged Me to Step In 被变相裁员后，全公司跪求我出手 After I Was Forced Out in All but Name, the Entire Company Begged Me to Step In 2kReads—Score—14d adds
- 174 Two Wolves in the Wilderness 荒野双狼 A prequel to King of the Wilderness, and the first installment in the Wilderness series. Yu Zekai’s days in northern Myanmar... Half of it is true and half is fictional. Take your time reading, and you won’t be disappointed. 38.1kReads9.1Score4.5k14d adds
- 175 Diary of Survival in the City 城市生存日记 [No Golden Finger + A Terrible Start from the Start + Self-Redemption + A Realistic Guide to Urban Homelessness] Watch a little waif scavenge and save money, making life a little better, one step at a time. He Qinghuan barely escaped her home deep in the mountains with her life, and now wanders the city. She must avoid being discovered as homeless and sent back, while making full use of the city's resources to feed herself and survive until she's old enough to work and support herself. Looking u 320Reads8.3Score14214d adds
- 176 Muscles and Heartbeats at the Gym: The Dumbbell 健身房的肌理与心跳之哑铃 Dumbbells: Muscle and Heartbeats at the Gym 1.8kReads—Score2214d adds
- 177 My Daughter Wants to Sell the House to Start a Business, So I Flipped the Dinner Table 女儿要卖房创业，我掀了饭桌 My Daughter Wants to Sell the House to Start a Business, So I Flipped the Dinner Table 738Reads—Score—14d adds
- 178 A Song of Life's Sorrows 生命悲歌 [Human nature + family + first person + male and female audiences] (Adapted into an audio drama with real voice actors; a motion comic is in production and coming soon.) Fate is never set in advance, yet it always pushes people toward unknown wilderness when they least expect it. The Ballad of Life uses simple, heartfelt storytelling to unfold a journey through hardship, perseverance, and struggle, revealing the most moving strength found in an ordinary life. There are no earth-shattering legend 10.9kReads9.2Score90714d adds
- 179 She Went Crazy After Falling for a Young Hunk 恋上小鲜肉后，她疯了。 She went crazy after falling for a young heartthrob. 21Reads—Score114d adds
- 180 Tales of Lijiang 丽江往事 The company went bankrupt, and at the same time we hit the seven-year itch. My wife tricked me into handing over all our assets by pretending we were getting a divorce. As soon as we left the civil affairs bureau, she got into the car of an old friend of mine. The two of them were planning a vacation in Thailand. When I got home, my former in-laws shut me out... 37.9kReads9.3Score4.2k14d adds
- 181 Dreams of the Golden Vase 金瓶梦迷 The moon over Linqing shines on the Customs House sails Whose romance does the Qing River hide at night? Cooking smoke drifts over Zishi Street, through centuries gone by Who still awaits that unfinished fate? Embroidered shoes shatter the bluestone path The wine's fragrance has intoxicated countless eyes Lights flicker atop Lion Tower, like the passing years Who, behind the curtain, secretly clicks the abacus? Plum blossoms in a golden vase, who pities the ill-fated beauty? A pot of springtime 2.3kReads—Score16614d adds
- 182 After My Divorce, I Embarked on the Path to Immortality 离婚后我开启了仙途 A real man can't go a single day without power, and a true man can't go a single day without money. When you have neither power nor money, people will nitpick you no matter how good you are, and look down on you no matter how well you treat them... 2.8kReads8.2Score17014d adds
- 183 Adopted Son, Part Two 过继二 [Wealth + power plays] [Reality + perseverance] [Life + passion] [Love + living] A man must be as tough as iron, but also as resilient as steel. Only then can he face the harshness of reality and the twists of fate, and rise to meet new challenges. I'm Zhao Erhai, and here's my story... 4kReads9.3Score47414d adds
- 184 After I Learned Her Secret, She Took Me to the Civil Affairs Bureau 我知道她的秘密后，她却带我去了民政局 After I Learned Her Secret, She Took Me to the Civil Affairs Bureau 1.5kReads—Score3314d adds
- 185 After Our Flash Marriage, I Could No Longer Hide My Billionaire Identity 闪婚后，我的首富身份藏不住了 After a Flash Marriage, I Could No Longer Hide My Billionaire Identity 760Reads—Score—14d adds
- 186 A Cruel Mother, a Broken Home, and Me, Unbroken 狠心的妈，破碎的家，不屈的我 [Male-Oriented, Rural, Family, Comeback, Power Fantasy, Inspirational] Abandoned by his own mother, abused by his stepmother, and struck by his father's sudden misfortune. Su Yang, a poor boy from the mountains, has been left battered by his family's cruelty. With no one to lean on and no support to count on, he can only fight his own way to survival. He studies hard, weathers turmoil on campus, and makes his way in the business world. His heartless relatives come crawling back to latch onto his 28.4kReads8.2Score2.3k14d adds
- 187 Laughing My Way Through a Perilous Path to Immortality 笑闯凶险仙路 Ye Bufan, a useless mortal unable to cultivate, obtains a Nascent Soul spiritual treasure. Traditional cultivation, slow-burn and cautious, no brainless decisions, no harem, no female lead, the Myriad Worlds, decisive and ruthless, and an invincible protagonist. The cultivation realms are Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Deity Transformation, and beyond… 11Reads—Score—14d adds
- 188 The Legend Reborn 传奇重现 The four-part series by Wei Jie: We Were All Bad Kids, I Am Legend, Legend Reborn, and Hidden Dragon on the Right Path. A young man, still green, left his hometown in a fit of anger. Four years later, he returned, weathered and bearing the glory of success! In a city built from reinforced concrete, old friends were gone and legends had faded into retirement... Faced with his family’s reproach and his friends’ disdain, he had once wandered at a crossroads, pointing into the dark sky with his 32.6kReads9.4Score3.2k14d adds
- 189 Reborn as a Super Spoiled Brat 重生之超级纨绔 [Reborn + Helping his father rise to power in politics + Battling for supremacy in the business world] “Mr. Chen Yang, may I ask how much wealth you have now?” “Every place you can see, every place you know about, every place you can imagine... it all belongs to me.” In his previous life, Chen Yang was left with nothing after his family was destroyed. He lived only for revenge, and in the end met a gruesome death. In this life, aside from making his enemies suffer worse than death, Chen Yang onl 25.9kReads8.8Score2.2k14d adds
- 190 My Fatal Charmer 我的红颜祸水 On the night the 2015 college entrance exam results became available, the whole family gathered around the computer to wait for the scores. We’d agreed that whoever scored higher, my younger sister or me, would go to college. The other would go with our father to find odd jobs at construction sites and earn money. My mother, stepfather, half-sister, and I all watched the screen. My sister scored 612, and I scored 540. But no one knew that I’d gotten zero on the Chinese exam. I’d turned in a blan 18.4kReads9.2Score1.8k14d adds
- 191 Surviving the Ordeal 熬过劫难 First, be certain that you can reach the summit. Then believe this book can rewrite your fate, and believe in the power of belief. By the time you read this book, the identity you have now will already have begun to loosen its grip. The moment you choose to begin, you have already left mediocrity behind. Can my story help you find your own path to salvation? May words reveal the power they truly hold. 63.7kReads9.2Score13.3k14d adds
- 192 All These Years Working Away from Home 外出打工这些年 Ever since Yu Xiaobai married Wu Jiajia, who loved wealth and despised poverty, he hasn’t had a single peaceful day... She turned their home upside down, then teamed up with her first boyfriend to make off with all the money he had worked so hard to earn. He indulged and cherished her in every way, but still couldn’t change Wu Jiajia’s determination to divorce him... After Wu Jiajia asked for a divorce for the umpteenth time, Yu Xiaobai finally chose to leave this absurd marriage and let them bo 172Reads—Score—14d adds
- 193 After Secretly Marrying a CEO and Superstar 与总裁大明星隐婚后 After Secretly Marrying a CEO Superstar 32Reads—Score—14d adds
- 194 When an Honest Man Picks Up a Knife 当老实人拿起刀 This is a straight-up crime-world novel! It does start with the protagonist being reborn, but after that, the story has nothing to do with being reborn! In short, the plot is ruthless, satisfying, and wild... The underworld here is all about fighting and killing, but also about human relationships and social rules! 22.4kReads9.1Score1.8k14d adds
- 195 A Love Story from Majia Village 马家庄的爱情故事 In a village so ordinary it could not be more ordinary, the hardworking bachelor Li Daqing and his neighbor Er Feng spend every day working in the fields, rising with the sun and resting at sundown. They have no extraordinary talents. With only their hands and their strength, they cultivate the barren land, filling their hardship-filled days with verdant growth in the courtyard and the warmth of everyday life. 9.7kReads8.7Score53514d adds
- 196 A-Lian in the Mountains 大山里的阿莲 A Lian had been married for three years, but her husband was impotent and she still hadn't gotten pregnant. She had a foul mouth but a soft heart. Later, she married Old Wang next door. Old Wang died in an accident, leaving A Lian a widow. Later, she was jailed for tomb robbing, but got out two years before him. Her life with Xiao Chen started out as one disaster after another. A Lian cursed and grumbled, but little by little, she came to think of this man who had served time as one of her own. 342Reads7.5Score11514d adds
- 197 I Put My Childhood Bride Through College, and Now She Wants to Dump Me 供童养媳上大学，毕业就想甩夫君 [Completed] [Loves Family, Loves Country, Teochew, 1988] "I want to break off the engagement!" he said. "Fine. Then let's consummate the marriage." The rugged country boy from Chaozhou spent one night with a beautiful bride, only for her to run away the next morning! He chased her to a Guangzhou newspaper office, the Technical University of Munich in Germany, the Xi'an Mecha Research Institute, the Jiangmen Mecha Experimental Base, and the Dahao Undersea Tunnel Mecha Experimental Base! Human-mac 2.2kReads8.1Score10314d adds
- 198 The System Forces Me to Be a Star's Personal Bodyguard. Is She Going to Offer Herself to Me? 系统逼我当女明星的贴身保镖，她要对我以身相许？ The System forces me to be a famous actress's personal bodyguard. Is she going to offer herself to me in return? 7Reads—Score114d adds
- 199 After I Got Pregnant, I Discovered My Husband’s Secret… 怀孕后，发现了老公的秘密…… After I Got Pregnant, I Discovered My Husband's Secret... —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 200 A Murder-Mystery Game Binds Me to a Goddess Cashback System, but She Won't Add Me on WeChat. What Do I Do? 剧本杀绑定女神返现，她不加我微信啊怎么办 She Binds to a Script-Killing Game and Gets Goddess Cashback. What Should I Do If She Won't Add Me on WeChat? 6Reads—Score—14d adds
