Ruby Lin (left) and Alec Su promote The Devotion of Suspect X in Beijing on March 9. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Taiwan stars Alec Su and Ruby Lin team up again in the forthcoming thriller The Devotion of Suspect X, adapted from Japanese author Keigo Higashino's award-wining novel with the same title.

With their portrayal of lovers in a series of such popular TV series as My Fair Princess and Romance in the Rain, Su and Lin have become well-known faces in the Chinese mainland since 1990s.

In the new film, which is Su's second directorial feature, Lin stars as a divorced mother who inadvertently kills her ex-husband.

Since his directorial debut The Left Ear achieved commercial success and critical acclaim in 2015, Su has refocused on directing.

Su says that his decades-long friendship with Lin played a key element in persuading her to join the cast.

"On the set, I'm quite demanding," Su said at a Beijing event on March 9. "Only good friends can tolerate my bad temper. Besides, Lin's veteran experience and personal flair make her pretty much match the character."

Su reveals the Chinese version of The Devotion of Suspect X will be different from the previous Japanese and South Korean movies, as required by Higashino, one of the most famous novelists in Japan.

In addition to Lin, the stellar cast also includes actors Wang Kai, known for Nirvana in Fire, and Zhang Luyi, who shot to fame in The Red.

Wang and Zhang respectively star as a physics professor and a genius mathematician who are drawn into the murder.

The movie, which is slated to open in the Chinese mainland on March 31, will also be released in North America, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Singapore, according to Chinese producer Enlight Media.