Novels like Youth: Who Gets to Decide?
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Youth: Who Gets to Decide?, best match first.
- 1 The Pinnacle of Black Power 黑权顶点 (Ignore the rating. This is a black-market thriller with guaranteed thrills.) Qin Hui only wants to sell watermelons in peace, earn a little money, and find himself a wife. But the street thugs at the market bully him until he can barely get by. At the end of his rope, he finally picks up a watermelon knife and strikes back. “A man needs either money or power. Better to stand up and fight than live like a spineless loser.” An ordinary man transforms into a big shot, eventually reaching unima 17.1kReads8.5Score1k14d adds
- 2 I'll Write My Own Youth 青春我来写 Synopsis: When I was very, very young, I had a beautiful older sister. My parents were always incredibly busy and often had to leave home to work in other places. So one day, they brought home an older sister they had adopted for me. She treated me wonderfully and took care of me in every way. But Dad was exceptionally cruel to her. Then one day in middle school, my sister left. I studied as hard as I could, and by the time I reached high school, I finally got into a school in the city and foun 234Reads—Score—14d adds
- 3 I'm No Little Punk: The Shorties' Hero Squad 我不是小混混之矮子英雄队 I'm determined not to become a hoodlum. Even a short person can stand tall. Not every hero is tall, but every passionate heart deserves to be seen. I won't go along with the ways of the world. I'll walk my own path through the jianghu. The road is long, so may we meet again at the summit... 77Reads—Score—14d adds
- 4 I’m No Punk: Three of Us Together 我不是小混混之三人行 Determined not to become a thug, he knows that those who walk different paths cannot work together. Brotherhood, and the revival of the Eight Gates of the underworld. Is a sinister force behind it all, or is something far worse on the horizon...? 307Reads—Score—14d adds
- 5 The Hidden Dragon of the Righteous Path 正道潜龙 One of Wei Jie’s four-part series A shooting case. An undercover agent lies dead in the street. An investigator once swore an oath beneath the solemn national emblem. At a crossroads of fate, a twin brother makes a dramatic entrance, leading to a lonely yet passionate story... Back to 1998! Our brotherhood is still here, our youth is still here. From this point, we set sail once more and forge the next great triumph! 39.3kReads9.5Score4.7k14d adds
- 6 The Riverside Scene of Muling 穆棱上河图 The Muling River is an important river in eastern Heilongjiang and the largest tributary on the left bank of the Ussuri River. It runs for 834 kilometers and drains an area of 18,427 square kilometers, passing through Muling City, Jixi City, Jidong County, Mishan City, and Hulin City. Locals call it the “Mother River.” I was fortunate enough to live there until I came of age. I left as an adult and have never been back. Some memories of people and things from those days are still vivid, and ther 28Reads—Score—14d adds
- 7 The Golden Age of the Gangland: A Blood-Red Underworld 黑帮盛世：血色江湖 (Not a mindless power fantasy. Underworld, urban setting, no invincible hero, first person, tight logic, humorous writing. Read with caution if that’s not your thing!) A cursed, tragic fate. A life in the underworld that cannot be escaped. A band of brothers who stand together through life and death, and a dark life longing for redemption. You’ve never endured years of hardship, so of course you can’t understand the underworld in my heart. My story begins after I get out of prison in Ice Cit 112.1kReads9.3Score8.3k14d adds
- 8 The Youth of Two Generations 两代人的青春 My name is Li Sunan, and I'm a complete... bastard. Please take a moment, settle in, and let me tell you the whole story. From my godfather, Li Zhen, to my second uncle, Cui Lijun, and then to my own dark life. From 1990 to 2020. Thirty tumultuous years in a small city in Northeast China. One act ends, and another begins. Two generations rise and fall, knowing both glory and disgrace. There are no all-powerful crime bosses here. Just a bunch of little people struggling at the bottom... The road 2.2kReads6.9Score10314d adds
- 9 I Am the Legend 我就是传奇 I don’t know when it happened, but a bunch of people like this came into my life, even though I’ve always been cold-hearted and a little shameless. When I got dumped, they’d say, “What’s the big deal? Lost your girl? Find another one tomorrow. If you’re really desperate, I’ll lend you myself for the night!” When I felt lost, they were always there with me in our cramped little rooms, shouting, “We give it everything we’ve got, all so we can make something of ourselves!” ... Back then, I couldn’t 19.6kReads9.3Score2k14d adds
- 10 King of the Underworld 江湖枭雄 An ordinary-looking confrontation pushes a callow young man to a crossroads in life. Faced with fate’s mockery and the crushing weight of life, he chooses to stand tall and fight back. 31.2kReads9.1Score2.7k14d adds
- 11 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
- 12 The Tiger Roars Across the Central Plains 虎啸中州 Three cups of wine for the mortal world, one pot of tea for a legacy that lasts a thousand years. What does it mean to truly live? Let me tell you what it means to unleash a ferocious tiger. Some ride horses, some sit in sedan chairs, while others push carts and shoulder their loads. I’ve never admitted defeat. You can beat me a thousand times, but I still won’t cry!!! 187Reads—Score—14d adds
- 13 Black Desires of Youth 黑欲青春 (Not a wish-fulfillment story, and the hero isn't invincible. Enter at your own risk.) A youth stained with blood, vows made without regret, inexperienced love, sincere friendship, the cruelty of society, and the complexity of human nature. An unforgettable, turbulent era! A piece of underworld lore passed down to this day! A band of brothers who shared honor and disgrace, life and death! An unmatched era, with a flag-bearer standing at its peak! Laughing as we watch the tides of fortune, marchi 47.7kReads9.4Score4.3k14d adds
- 14 The Peerless God of War 绝世战王 After ten years on the battlefield, the War King returns, rich enough to rival a nation! But his entire family has been slaughtered, and the culprit turns out to be his fiancée... 2.2kReads7.2Score16514d adds
- 15 Supreme Warlord 至尊战王 After ten years on the battlefield, the God of War returns. He wields power over all and is richer than a nation! But his entire family has been slaughtered, and the mastermind turns out to be his fiancée... 594Reads8.4Score8714d adds
- 16 EN Apocalypse Underworld Emperor: After Dark, I Make the Rules 末世地下皇帝，天黑以后我说的算 (No System, passionate, brotherhood, not an invincible protagonist, high martial arts) (Ensemble cast, every character has a distinct personality and their own moments to shine) A young man framed and imprisoned by his own boss unexpectedly gains the blood of the Demon Ancestor and awakens as a superpowered fighter, embarking on a path of revenge. The story of a group of youths from the bottom of society fighting their way up. A legend about a young man who rises to become the Underworld Emperor 62.5kReads9.4Score7.1k14d adds
- 17 I Saved a Stunning Beauty, and She Tried to Hack Me with a Knife by the Bed 救了绝色美女，她在床边拿刀砍我 Chu Lingtian is a legendary man known as the "Grim Reaper Wolf King." He returns to the city for a top-secret mission, never imagining that on his very first day back, he will spend the night with a beautiful woman named Liu Bingxue. Afterward, Liu Bingxue takes him home and passes him off as her boyfriend. But it turns out she has a twin sister, Liu Huohuo. The older sister is cold and aloof, while the younger is uninhibited. Sharing a room with these twin beauties is certainly thrilling. After 11.5kReads8.7Score1k14d adds
- 18 Underworld Tyrant: Those Who Follow Me Prosper, Those Who Oppose Me Perish! 黑道暴君：顺我者昌，逆我者亡！ [Class Beauty, I’m out of prison. You’ll pay for what you did!] Framed by the class beauty he loved, Wang Erchui was wrongfully imprisoned for three years. The misery of prison transformed the once-ordinary boy into a hardened man. But it was only after getting out and seeking revenge that he gradually realized there was a terrifying story behind it all. The truth was, it wasn’t that love affair that had ruined his life. It was a vast, carefully woven web of darkness. His enemies had already ris 9.6kReads8.9Score58714d adds
- 19 The Northern City Kingpin 北城枭雄 Formerly titled The Northern City's Underworld Boss, also known as Tales of the Northeastern Underworld. They say the underworld is all about human relationships and worldly ways, but have you ever seen the real underworld? The underworld is dangerous, but the human heart is even more dangerous. Spring ice is thin, and human nature is thinner still. The underworld is nothing more than a game of chess. Once you enter the game, you can no longer control your own fate. I will use my own experie 265.8kReads9.5Score15.3k14d adds
- 20 My Dongguan Dream: Sister Mei 我的东莞梦：媚姐 Sister Mei's advice to me: The women at entertainment venues are just for looking. Don't get serious with them. Sister Mei also said: Don't get any ideas about me, either. [A story about working for a living, perhaps with a little of me, you, and him in it.] 198.5kReads8.9Score9.7k14d adds
- 21 Dragon Head 龙头 For the sake of the goddess, I crossed the big shot in the county. To stay alive, I fought my way up, one step at a time, until I became the boss... One day, the hidden dragon will find the rain it needs. With a single roar, it will shift the mountains and rivers and move the Big Dipper. Stories of the underdog rising to the top will always set the blood racing. 27.2kReads9.0Score2.7k14d adds
- 22 My 26-Year-Old Female Tenant 我的26岁女房客 After a wild night at a bar, a beautiful woman pinned him with a paternity claim, and the down-and-out young man suddenly became a father. As if things weren't bad enough, the owner of his rented home changed, and he was about to be kicked out. But his new landlady was beautiful! Should he ask to share the place? She coolly gave him a single word: “Get out!” A romantic entanglement sparked by a housing problem. 118.2kReads9.7Score13.7k14d adds
- 23 EN Don't Worry, Senior—I'll Protect You 学姐别怕，我来保护你 [Heart-Pounding Engine 2: Pure White Love Letter has been published] [Lighthearted daily life] + [Single female lead] + [No System] + [Not reborn] + [Sweet romance] In high school, Luo Ye had a secret crush on a girl for three years. He even got into the same university as her, and they agreed to start dating if they both got in. But the girl unexpectedly went back on her word. Heartbroken, Luo Ye became a romance novelist. Unexpectedly, before university even began, the novel he wrote shot to t 312.7kReads9.8Score31.4k14d adds
