Many Chinese sites host Sherlock fan-fiction depicting Holmes and Watson as a couple.

许多中国网站上的《神探夏洛克》同人小说把夏洛克·福尔摩斯和约翰·华生写成了一对。

It was not just British fans who had been waiting anxiously to find out just how Sherlock Holmes dodged death in the final instalment of the massively popular BBC drama Sherlock.

不只是英国的粉丝在焦急地等待BBC热门剧集《神探夏洛克》揭示福尔摩斯在第二季末的假死之谜。

"I tore myself away from bed early this morning just to watch 90 minutes of my Curly Fu and Peanut," said one online comment. "The gay-citement has finally returned. PS: Thank you, Prime Minister Cameron, for visiting China."

中国网站上的一个评论这样写道：“我今天早上挣扎着从床上爬起来，就是为了看90分钟我的卷福和华生。基情终于回归！PS：感谢英国首相卡梅伦访问中国。”

"Curly Fu" and "Peanut" are the names given by Chinese fans to Sherlock and his sidekick, Dr Watson, because they resemble the Chinese pronunciation of their names. The "gay-citement" tag? Well, that is used to describe the excitement of seeing what Chinese fans like to think of as the love between the two characters.

“卷福” 和“花生” 是中国的粉丝给福尔摩斯和他的伙伴华生医生取的昵称，因为他们的名字翻译成中文和昵称发音较相似。至于说“基情”？好吧，这个词儿是用来形容中国粉丝脑补这两个主角之间的爱意时的激动心情。

When UK Prime Minister David Cameron visited China in December and opened an account on weibo, China's version of Twitter, the top request for him was to speed up the release of the new series of Sherlock. That day finally arrived.

去年12月，英国首相大卫·卡梅伦访问中国，他还在中国版的推特——新浪微博上开设账号，中国的微博用户最迫切的请求就是希望首相大人能催《神探夏洛克》第三季快点播。这终于来了。

The show was launched on Youku, a Chinese video-hosting website similar to YouTube, just two hours after its premiere in Britain. It got almost 3m hits overnight, and weibo has been lit up by fans discussing the new episode.

《神探夏洛克》第三季在中国主流视频网站优酷上同步发布，离英国首播的时间只晚两个小时。集播出后一夜之间获得了300万的点击，粉丝都在讨论新一集的剧情，微博都被点燃了。

There is a particular affection for Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock, with even an online forum dedicated to Curly Fu.

中国粉丝特别喜爱本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇饰演的夏洛克·福尔摩斯，甚至还有一个专门给卷福的在线论坛。

"The human race cannot stop the invasion of Curly Fu," posted one commentator. "Curly Fu is the sexiest when he plays violin," said another. "Curly Fu is my only male god. He represents beauty and wisdom, but better with his clothes off."

一位评论者这样表示：“人类都无法阻止卷福的魅力入侵！” 另一位则这样写道：“卷福拉小提琴的时候最性感，他是我的男神。他是美貌和智慧的象征，不过脱掉衣服的时候更好了。”

But the most fervent fans are those intent on finding a gay subtext to the relationship between Holmes and Watson. There are numerous Chinese sites that host Sherlock fan fiction, depicting the detectives as a couple. And among this group of fans, many identify themselves as funu or "rotten women" - young women who like gay stories.

这还不算什么，最狂热的粉丝则努力在福尔摩斯和华生之间寻找关于基情潜台词的蛛丝马迹。有大量的中国网站上连载着《神探夏洛克》的同人小说，将这对侦探描述成一对情侣。这群粉丝很多都自称为“腐女”——即喜欢同性恋题材故事的年轻女性。

"I have to say, this show is catering to our rotten girls' taste more and more," said one fan.

一位粉丝这样说：“不得不说，这部剧越来越多地在迎合腐女们的口味了。”

"Sherlock tortures Watson a thousand times, and Watson loves him like his first love," wrote another. "I've waited two years, and it didn't disappoint me."

另外一位则表示：“卷福虐花生千万遍，花生依然待他如初恋。我等了两年，第三季没让我失望。”