Novels like Zhao Xiaodao's Turbulent Life
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Zhao Xiaodao's Turbulent Life, best match first.
- 51 The Way of Demand: A Sales Mogul’s Journey 需求之道：销售大佬的来时路 Sales are the foundation of this world’s development! You might think I’m talking nonsense. What is the essence of sales? Exchanging what we have for what others want. Exactly: a transaction! Isn’t sales about making money? Money is just currency, a medium, a tool. Think about it: in your work, daily life, and studies, whenever you deal with people, what isn’t a transaction? At work, you trade your time, physical strength, and intelligence for a salary, bonuses, recognition, appreciation, self-f 32Reads—Score—14d adds
- 52 Sweet Days of Striving in the 1990s 九零向上的日子甜蜜蜜 Rural daily life + farmhouse cooking + female growth + family squabbles + childhood sweethearts A story of family squabbles beginning in the 1990s, with plenty of farmhouse cooking. Gathering wild walnuts, cutting moso bamboo, raising silkworms, digging for bamboo shoots and medicinal herbs to earn money; making a fishing hook from a sewing needle, digging up earthworms, and going fishing... Yang Xiangshang follows her mother to join her stepfather, stays behind in Wangjiata Village to attend 1.1kReads—Score—14d adds
- 53 At Twenty-Six, I Didn't Marry Him Again 回到26岁我没再嫁给他 After thirteen years of marriage filled with one mess after another, I’d finally had enough. The day I worked up the courage to divorce him, I was reborn two months before our wedding. This time, just watch me ditch my “ex-husband” and throw myself into my career and love life. And that “brooding but secretly passionate” hottie I’d sneered at in college had been secretly in love with me all these years, waiting for me. This time, I won’t try to change anything. I’ll just be more selective. Money 5.3kReads8.1Score39514d adds
- 54 What Even Is Love? 爱情算个什么东西？ Three women living in a first-tier city each face all kinds of troubles in love. Li Nanzhao and her boyfriend are deeply in love, but his future mother-in-law is critical of her and looks down on her. Huang Qiuju comes from a thoroughly dysfunctional family. Determined to climb the social ladder and change her fate through her own hard work, she must decide whether to embrace or reject love when it suddenly comes her way. Zhou Mingrou suffers her husband's cold violence in their marriage, yet st 322Reads8.7Score10014d adds
- 55 First Love, No Goodbyes! 初恋，不说再见！ A lawyer and designer pairing, chronicling the everyday lives of ordinary office workers. There is no angst throughout, and the story progresses at a steady pace. Readers who prefer fast-paced power fantasies should give it a miss. Two people who liked each other missed their chance to confess because of a series of misunderstandings, and years passed before they met again. When they finally did, Gu Jin realized just how badly she had been mistaken. When you like someone, you really do like the 32Reads—Score—14d adds
- 56 Sent to the Countryside in Northeast China 下乡到东北 An expert in pressure-point strikes, grappling, and street fights; a fast puncher with an IQ of 120, this hot-blooded young man goes by the nickname Tu Ye. He likes to poke fun at himself, and he’s quick-witted and bold. Strange and amusing incidents follow him throughout his life. His motto is: “One decisive move is all you need.” He believes in striking to kill, fighting when you can win and running when you can’t. He’s been hurt, backed down, seen blood, and been called “boss.” He’s never don 83Reads—Score—14d adds
- 57 A Family Man 男人顾家 Urban life, everyday life, witty humor, and stirring passion. This is a slow-burn novel, best suited to readers willing to take their time. The story unfolds in four stages: Gu Jia’s naïve childhood, his passionate youth, his fearless years in the military, and his entrepreneurial journey after leaving the service. Told in a realistic style, the novel follows Gu Jia’s growth, from his father being tricked into working in an illegal coal mine, to Gu Jia and his mother relying on each other for su 23Reads—Score—14d adds
- 58 Back in the City as a King 重返都市当王者 Faced with two choices, a death sentence or five years on an island, Liu Gu chose five years on the island. Five years later, after completing his mission, he and Li Yi owed each other nothing. Over those five years, Liu Gu steadily built up his strength and, through a series of fortunate encounters, mastered every skill the criminals had to offer. Just as he was planning to return and make a name for himself, finally living for his own sake, Li Yi asked him to join Yinxia. “What? I’ve barely jo 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 59 My Heart’s Journey 我将心缘游 A somewhat realistic story featuring a hero and an ambitious heroine. It tells of waiting for love: he guards the country, while I protect our little home. We can’t see each other often, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Driven by her love of fashion design, she promotes traditional culture, with each travel route introducing the daily lives of ordinary people. Qi Jian knew from childhood that he had a rich, adorable little wife-to-be. His promising father had brought him along with gifts —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 60 How Could I Have So Many Admirers! 我怎么会有桃花！ (There will be a harem. This isn’t a brainless wish-fulfillment story.) After graduating from high school, Lin Zhou has finally put an end to three painful years of tightly regimented school life. But graduation brings its own little challenge, so he decides to ditch his good-student image. A new life is about to begin! He takes a summer job, learns to drive, and heads to campus for registration. Why are there girls surrounding him everywhere he goes? I’m just a college guy who’s barely turned e 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 61 The Old Military Factory 老军工厂 Factory 103 has a long history, dating back to the 1950s. Its first director took a hand-cranked sewing machine to the front lines to serve the soldiers fighting in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Decades later, what began as a clothing factory became a subsidiary of a state-owned central enterprise and a publicly listed company, before gradually moving toward... 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 62 A Husband’s Punishment 丈夫的惩罚 The heroine was a beautiful, fair-skinned woman from a family of officials, with an outstanding husband. But her husband mistakenly believed she had cheated on him and chose to take revenge. As time passes, they both grow into mature, accomplished people, yet their relationship remains full of twists and turns, with no end in sight. The heroine can never let go of this love. What fate will the two of them ultimately meet… 682Reads5.4Score—14d adds
- 63 She and Her Eating Disorder 她与厌食症 [Adapted from the author’s personal experience] 2019, senior year of high school: I start losing weight. 2020, the “results”: 168 cm tall, 42 kg. 2022: Binge eating, a sharp weight gain, dropping out of school, and admission to a psychiatric hospital. 2023: Moping around at home, bored out of my mind, I start documenting my struggle with food, body-image anxiety, my family of origin, and even fate itself. 2026: Life is slowly getting better. Looking back on that time, I’m still grateful for my o 34Reads—Score—14d adds
- 64 Who Hasn’t Dated a Jerk or Two? Growing Up 谁不经历几个渣男：长大成人 Who doesn’t have to go through a few jerks on the way to growing up? This book explores women’s emotional growth. Drawing mostly on the author’s own experiences and reflections on love, and shaped with literary embellishment, it presents five stages of women’s emotional growth in the hope of offering a little guidance to women who feel lost. 124Reads—Score—14d adds
- 65 Real Life: A Middle Schooler's Journey as a Writer 真实人生：一个初中生的写作路 A real life, a painful past: I grew up poor and frail, plagued by illness. At fifteen, I dropped out of school and began pursuing my literary dream at home. After having my work rejected time and again, I finally saw my first-ever piece published. It also became the last thing I ever published in print. Then I turned to the internet and began my journey as a web novelist. 21Reads8.0Score214d adds
- 66 In No Time at All 三下五除二 Dr. Xiao He has become especially warm and friendly lately. Everyone knows why. In a life where every moment feels dull, I met the one person who makes it interesting. A warmhearted screenwriter who loves cooking * a hardworking doctor who loves tagging along for meals. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 67 The Book My Mom Burned, I Wrote Again 那本被我妈烧掉的书，我写回来了 When I was fourteen, my mom said, “If you don’t do your homework, I’ll burn your books.” I didn’t wait for her to do it. I piled all my homework on the kitchen floor, doused it with oil, and lit it myself. As the flames leapt up, she stood beside me chopping vegetables. Her knife thudded against the cutting board, once, twice, three times. She didn’t stop me or scold me. She didn’t even look over. That was the first time I spoke with fire. Later, while I was away, my whole class signed a petit 8Reads—Score—14d adds
- 68 A Life Reassembled 重组人生 Don’t think life is always dull and ordinary. Everyone has their own poetry and distant horizons, and every love nurtured with care deserves to be mellowed by time, like a fine wine. Just like Fang Xiaojin and Lin Feng, who found rebirth through saving each other. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 69 Final Chapter: Protecting the One I Love 棍式终章：守护心爱之人 [First-person POV + multiple heroines + modern urban setting + realism + healing + pure love + not a power fantasy + no System + not reborn] The rain in Hangzhou is always bone-chillingly cold. Shen Yi abandoned me at the East Railway Station. I watched her drive away in a Porsche. My senior brother died in a car accident, and the martial arts school was on the verge of collapse. I spent my days drinking and smoking in a rundown shack. I thought my life would be like an unvisited grave in this c 2Reads—Score114d adds
- 70 The Loves of Women 女人们的爱情 Women’s Love: Family Memories Across Time is a long-form work of documentary fiction by Hen Jiangyin. Based on true stories from the author’s own family and enriched by extensive interviews with local people, it focuses on the Zhang, Xia, and Li families, vividly tracing the lives of the four Li sisters, the six Xia siblings, and the three Zhang brothers. Their stories are full of twists and turns and deeply moving moments, leaving a lasting impression. The women’s love stories are especially st 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 71 An Ordinary Road to Self-Redemption 自我救赎的平凡之路 Chen Shi Liang, an unremarkable man born in the late 1970s, finds his own Holy Grail through constant efforts at self-redemption. On the road to a life of freedom, he saves his lost heart and corrects the simple, genuine principles buried deep within him. Through unyielding struggle, he purifies his soul. Whenever he strays from that gentleness, he corrects his course and keeps growing. In the end, he redeems himself, returning to the beginning of a life defined by kindness, courtesy, and devoti 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 72 This Makes No Sense: Why Was I Reborn?! 不应该啊：我为什么会重生！ [Easygoing, lots of romance, no System, campus belle, laid-back daily life, comedy] Xu Beilin was a successful young man, riding high on life and living the life of a diamond bachelor. Then, on his twenty-ninth birthday, he unexpectedly became reborn. Back ten years in the past, should he follow the path of his previous life and enjoy the same carefree, comfortable existence? Or make a little more money? Or perhaps date a little more... No, no, he should say, make up for a few regrets from the p 28Reads8.2Score—14d adds
- 73 Xiaohuan in Beijing 小寰在北京 [Urban Life + Entrepreneurship + No Saintly Heroine + No Simping + No Idiocy + Realistic + Humor + Intelligence] Xiaohuan in Beijing is a full-length novel. The novel tells the story of Zhao Xiaohuan, a man born in 1991, as he works and lives in Beijing. After graduating from university, he worked for two years in his hometown of Shenyang, but he never forgot the boast he had made in college: that he would become the richest man in the world. However, reality left him increasingly dispirited, an 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 74 Simmering Tears to Brew Youth 轻煮眼泪熬青春 In the 1980s, an accident changed the fate of a beautiful fifteen-year-old girl forever. Family, love, and friendship backed her into a dead end. She went far away from home and met an overbearing CEO who loved her. Their love began a journey of mutual healing, as their lives unfolded through streaks of blood and warmth, peeling back the bittersweet layers like an onion. 59Reads6.7Score—14d adds
- 75 Loving You More and More 越来越爱 Goodbye may mean never seeing you again. In my dreams of endless years of war, I always see you, alone on the cliff; Half of it is longing, half of it is love, and the more I long, the more I love. In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed. Everything has changed, and I have returned… [Lucky to have met you, grateful our paths crossed, and thankful for your companionship all this way.] 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 76 Tides of Canton 粤海沉浮 [Plot + Romance + Office Life + Entrepreneurship + Striving + Romantic Encounters + Reflections on Life] It’s hard to teach people through reason. But one hard lesson from life can make them see the light. After his girlfriend cheats on him, Shen Linfeng resolutely gives up his job back home and heads to Shenzhen to make a life for himself. As he rides the ups and downs there, he weathers countless storms at work and in business, gradually breaking through his own limitations and taking unconven 2kReads8.1Score16114d adds
- 77 The Desperate Wife 绝望的妻子 Housewife Li Wenqing had been living a comfortable, affluent life. She had an adorable son and got along well with her stepdaughter. But on the eve of their seventh wedding anniversary, Li Wenqing discovered that her husband was having an affair. Longing for a whole and happy family, she endured a painful inner struggle and hoped her husband would see the error of his ways and return to the family. Instead, he went down a path of no return. Betrayed by her husband and stabbed in the back by her 167Reads7.2Score—14d adds
- 78 A Little Story About Buying a House 买房的小故事 Among almost everyone I know, apart from only daughters whose parents help them buy a home, daughters in families with both sons and daughters have to work toward buying a home on their own. Many parents even stand in their way. And when a daughter gets married after buying a home, they may throw all kinds of obstacles in her path, hoping she will transfer the property to her brother. They believe a daughter’s home should belong to her parents’ family. This book tells four short stories about wo 93Reads—Score—14d adds
- 79 In Those Ordinary Days 那些平凡的生活里 Those trivial things, small as sesame seeds, really happened. Those hatreds were etched into my heart. Each of those nights filled with joy and sorrow seemed longer than the last. So what? I still have to grit my teeth and keep going. I have to let go of the past that needs forgetting, piece together whatever life I can, and find a way to live with some dignity! 12Reads—Score314d adds
- 80 A Life Destined to Lose Everything 终将失去的一生 In this brief life, we are bound to lose everything. So why not be a little bolder: climb a mountain, chase a dream, love someone. The novel "A Life Bound to Be Lost" follows Suifeng's life. Starting out as a young, naive migrant worker, he struggles through life's hardships, moving from factory to factory, shouldering the burdens of family, and enduring the grind of reality, yet never giving up his hope for a better life. From studying personal finance and trying his hand at writing to facing —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 81 When the Music Ends, We Part: Part One 曲终人散第一部 The protagonist, Chongzi, is a terrible person! Because of relevant laws and regulations, I can't fully write about just how terrible he is. So the ending he gets is only to be expected. This is an ordinary, unremarkable story, not a power fantasy and unrelated to transmigration. It's so ordinary you could see something like it happening in everyday life. It might not be very appealing, but the author did their best. This is the best I can do. If you think it's decent, look for the second book, 10Reads—Score—14d adds
- 82 Don’t Leave Me in a Hell on Earth Without You 别把我丢在没有你的人间炼狱 Don't leave me in a living hell without you. 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 83 My Small-Town Girlfriend 我的小城女友 No matter how long people live in a big city, they eventually return to a small town. Xiyang, a genius who made his fortune through stock trading, finds his life going nowhere after his girlfriend cheats on him and his career hits a wall. He leaves Chengdu, a city full of memories, and returns to his hometown, where he meets the girl who will become his small-town girlfriend. This is an ordinary book, but the small-town life it tells of is anything but ordinary. 66Reads—Score—14d adds
- 84 The Unusual Little Wife of Constable Zhou 周捕快家的小娘子不一般 An old-fashioned constable from ancient times versus a young woman from a family of street vendors Rugged man versus scheming woman [Family Life] [Ensemble Cast] At first, She says, “Men are just men. If I can't whip one into shape, that's my failure. It's not that I marry into a good life, it's that whoever I marry will have a good life!” He says, “I'll count to three!” Later, He says, “Raise my pocket money by one coin. The mung bean cakes outside the yamen have gone up in price.” She says, “I 903Reads8.0Score10114d adds
- 85 Reborn in 2008, Blossoming All the Way 重生零八，一路生花 [Reborn + genius student + no romance + everyday life + realism] [The early part leans toward realism. This is not a power fantasy about a strong female lead. If you can't handle realism, feel free to drop the story, but please don't leave negative reviews.] New graduate Yi Sinan worked hard for a whole year, only to have something fall from the sky and send her twenty years into the past, just after she had finally paid off her national student loan. Who can relate? Twenty years of hard work, a 36Reads—Score13714d adds
- 86 Ripples on Warm Waters 暖水微澜 [Both leads are devoted to each other + mutual pursuit + everyday life + partly set in the entertainment industry + one-on-one romance] A slow burn at first, then a satisfying romance. There’s sweetness and angst, with angst first and sweetness later. A story about perfect pitch and a heart that feels everything too deeply. The hero loves her but can’t have her, and has a long road ahead as he tries to win her back. The heroine doesn’t realize she’s in love and must overcome one psychological hu 4Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 87 The Fifth Miss Is Wild and Fearless 五小姐疯又飒 Everyone thought the fifth young lady of the Nangong family was a delicate little white flower. That was, until she used the long-lost “gold-and-silver inlay” technique to trounce the international teams from the three major Jiangbei families. Yet the Ji family’s cold-blooded tyrant from Hong Kong Island, a man who wanted nothing to do with women, cornered her at the entrance to her studio. “Six years ago, you told me to treat you a little better. I’ve remembered that for six years. Now, isn’t i —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 88 The Real Stories of My Virtual Boyfriend Days 关于我做虚拟男友的那些真实往事 In 2020, during the pandemic, I happened to become a virtual boyfriend online. Six years later, so many stories are still vivid in my memory, so I picked up my pen and wrote this novel. Every story in this book is true. 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 89 The Fleas 跳蚤们 The Fleas is a crime novel about the struggles and ambitions of new Chinese immigrants in Flushing and Manhattan, New York. Set in the early twenty-first century, it follows three ordinary men, Li Xiaodong, Gao Wanli, and Xie Yuan, who came to America as immigrants, undocumented migrants, and international students. Through starkly realistic storytelling, it portrays their hardships and desires as they confront the challenges of building new lives overseas, revealing the difficulties of immigran 7Reads9.5Score314d adds
- 90 Criminal Investigation: The Truth Behind the 180,000-Yuan Dowry Massacre 刑警追凶：18万彩礼灭门真相 Criminal Police Pursue a Murder Case: The Truth Behind a Family Massacre Over a 180,000-Yuan Bride Price 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 91 Breaking Free 逃离束缚 Su Yu and Tang Yilan met on a blind date arranged by their university professor. After spending some time together, they both decided they liked each other, so they went to meet each other’s parents. At first, everything seemed to go smoothly, but after they got married, they argued over whether to rent a place of their own. Su Yu also has an older brother, Su Lun, who has been married to Zhao Yanan for years, but still has no children of his own. After finally getting married, Tang Yilan reali 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 92 My Years Roaming the Jianghu 我行走江湖那些年 [Urban Life + Hard Work] [Life as a Beipiao + Daily Life] [Sweet Romance + Passion] A story of youthful striving. Along the way, I’ve learned that begging others for help is like swallowing a three-foot sword, while relying on others is like climbing to the ninth heaven. The ground gets slippery when it rains, so if you fall, you have to pick yourself up. And if you want someone to lend you a hand, you’d better be willing to trade cigarettes for cigarettes and tea for tea! 3.9kReads8.6Score44214d adds
- 93 I Have a Daily Sign-In System That Makes Me Rich 我有一个每日签到的消费财富系统 System, shut-in heroine, lighthearted, everyday life, romance. Cai Yujie is a shut-in who works an ordinary clerical job, doing odd tasks, in the big city of Jincheng. Her life is uneventful. She tries to save money and occasionally visits the orphanage. Her two roommates go back to their hometowns for the Spring Festival, leaving Cai Yujie to stay behind. Then a global pandemic breaks out, and with nowhere else to go for the time being, she stocks up on supplies, spends New Year’s Eve alone in 694Reads—Score10914d adds
- 94 A Lawyer and His Three Women 一个律师和他的三个女人 Romance + law + workplace Lin Fan entered Xingzhou's top law firm with dreams of upholding the law, unaware that beneath his mentor Zhou Mingli's refined facade lay nothing but dirty dealings. He became mired in a world of lust: Bai Lu, the infatuated receptionist, sacrificed herself to him and turned him into a slave to desire; Zhao Ya, the heiress to a wealthy family, lured him into a life of extravagant pleasures and dragged him into a criminal maelstrom. As he walked the line between money, 9Reads—Score—14d adds
- 95 A World of Splendor 繁华世间 Longing for beautiful prose? Detailed descriptions? A love triangle? That heart-wrenching, yearning feeling? Then come sit here, and listen as I tell the tale of one man caught between the bustling world and two wonderful women, torn by a love that cuts to the bone, yet brimming with ambition as he builds a successful career. (Recommended as an audiobook with a gentle, mature female voice.) 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 96 Niu Meili, Your Dad Says Come Home and Farm 牛美丽，你爹喊你回家种田 My name is Niu Meili. I’m 30 years old, the first college graduate in my village. After working for seven years, I got laid off, and then my boyfriend dumped me too. My dad said he’d left me two million yuan. When I went home, I discovered it was two million yuan in debt and five hundred mu of wasteland. “Farming? Not even a dog would do that!” But there was no getting out of farming. If I was going to do it, I’d do it in the most unusual way. Cloud-based vegetable farming, a real-life crop-stea 45Reads—Score—14d adds
- 97 My Wife Has Billions, Yet I Collect Scrap in a Three-Wheeler 老婆百亿家产，我却开三轮收废品 [One heroine only] + [No System] + [No rebirth tropes] + [Highly inspirational story] + [Passionate jianghu adventure] Zhang Nan is cruelly dumped by his girlfriend of three years over a problem in the bedroom. Desperate, he jumps into the sea to end his life, only to be rescued. While drowning his sorrows in alcohol, he has an unexpected encounter with a stunning woman CEO worth billions, drawing him into a string of conflicts. By chance, the police recruit him as an undercover agent, but throu 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 98 Babel Tower Turns East 巴别塔向东 An ordinary person returns to his high school days. He doesn’t choose the path of stock trading or real estate speculation, nor does he get an overpowered golden finger. Instead, he puts the work methods he honed in his previous life to use, stakes everything on getting into Peking University’s Arabic department, and eventually becomes a major figure on the Middle Eastern diplomatic stage. Across two lifetimes, he finds what his heart has long yearned for. The Bible says the Tower of Babel fell —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 99 Little Wu in Shenzhen 小武在深圳 [Urban life + wage work + martial arts + betrayal + no holier-than-thou protagonist + no doormat + no brainless decisions + realism + humor + intelligence] Xiao Wu in Shenzhen is a long novel divided into five volumes by year. It tells the story of the male protagonist, Ying Xiaowu, born in 1985, and the five years he spent working and living in Shenzhen. In 2015, he left his hometown of Wuxue for Shenzhen for the first time. Confident that his talents in both the literary and martial arts coul 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 100 A Pregnant Blind Date? I Tearfully Order Australian Lobster and Make a Million 相亲怀孕女？我含泪点澳洲龙虾，狂赚百万 A Pregnant Blind Date? I Tearfully Order Australian Lobster and Make a Million —Reads—Score—14d adds
