"George, do you love me?" she asked.
"Yes, my heart is full of you now!" I said.
Then I asked her, "Sharon, do you love me?"
"Yes, of course," she nodded vigorously. "Since the first time I met you, I've been looking forward to the day when my heart is together with yours."
The story begins in 1978 in Mainland China when the hero, named George, goes to university as a freshman. He meets a girl who falls in love with him at the first sight. Her name is Sharon, one of the two heroines in the story. George likes Sharon but does not love her yet. So it is like a normal campus love happened between a girl and a boy at the very beginning.
During George's first winter vacation at university, another girl named Jane entered into his private life. She is his father's assistant and almost five years elder than George. He has a crush on Jane since he has been a young boy.
Therefore, George faces the dilemma of choosing between Sharon and Jane. One is a sweet and lovely girl like an angel, and the other is an intelligent and beautiful girl with passion and a caring personality. It is really a difficult choice for him indeed.
Eventual, Sharon wins George's heart with her sweet and pure love. They get married after their graduation. Unfortunately Sharon dies in a car accident after two years of their marriage. George is heart-broken and sad for almost five years until he meets with Jane again. Jane is still single and does not get married yet. She still likes George. They live together as lovers and have a baby after one year.
Being tired of his meaningless job, George decides to resign and move to Shangri-la with Shirley, his lovely daughter with Sharon. He sets up a primary school and teaches the Tibetan children there in a Tibetan village. He and his daughter live happily in Shangri-la, a paradise on earth in the southwest of China. Jane also likes Shangri-la and she plans to join George in Shangri-la after her retirement.
The story tells about George's childhood, boyhood and his early family life with his parents, his elder sisters and brothers through nostalgic recollections. It also portrays his Platonic love with Sharon, his worldly love with Jane, his pursuit of happiness, which consists of the beauty of human mind and the beauty of nature, and also his search for the meaning of human life.