Zhang Zetian. By Jiang Dong / China Daily

For singer-turned-director Lu Gengxu, his second film, Lifelong With You, is a decades-long dream that’s finally going to come true.

At a recent Beijing press conference to announce that preparation for the film is underway, Lu, a member of the renowned musical group Water and Wood, reveals that he conceived the storyline 20 years ago.

“The feeling is like being pregnant for two decades, and it’s now time to do the delivery. I’m so excited,” the 44-year-old Tsinghua-educated architecture major says.

There is a background story behind the movie: Lifelong With You, which has the same Chinese title of Lu’s hit song released in 2001, is inspired by Lu’s failed love of a young woman during his university life.

"I had been chasing her for quite a long time, but she never agrees to be my girlfriend," says Lu, "One morning I got an inspiration from my frustration. So actually it’s about a lifelong story without the ‘you’."

Zhang Zetian, an Internet sensation for her beauty and also a Tsinghua student, showed up at the press conference and created a stir among the domestic reporters, as she rarely grants interviews.

Nicknamed "milk tea sister" for her shot-to-fame photo with a cup of milk tea in her hand, which went viral on Internet in 2009, Zhang, 20, has recently made headlines because of her relationship with Liu Qiangdong, 40, founder of e-commerce company JD.com Inc and one of China’s richest people.

"The song was very popular when I was a junior school student. Most of my classmates sing it after classes," she says.

When asked if Lu will select Zhang as the lead actress in Lifelong With You, he says Zhang is certainly qualified and it’s “definitely no problem” if she wants to play the role. Lu’s directorial debut, Forever Young, was released on Jan 10 and was well-received by audiences and critics.

The film, a reflection of Lu’s nostalgia for his university days, won three awards — best score, best actor and best producer — at the first China International Film Festival in London in early December last year. Lu wrote the music score himself.