CHAPTER 212: CHAPTER 211: UNCROWNED KING

Chapter 211: Uncrowned King

After Gu Yijin’s group finished their performance, the lights lit up again and the backdrop from their mental power also disappeared making the original appearance of the small arena resurface.

The young men once again stand in the same posture as their first appearance on stage and the floor under them slowly descends. They remained unmoved even with the loud cheers the audience gave them and only when they were finally out of the stage did the shouts stopped.

The next to perform is Han Baiwei’s group.

At first, what actually expected from his group was about the luxury of royalty or something about the greatness of a king. Afterall, Han Baiwei is typically a young master who came from a wealthy family. His impression of a king may be something with great power and authority.

Thus, when the surroundings changed into a large castle with desolate surroundings stunned them.

Unlike what they expected that this group would perform explosively, the castle that’s in front of them looked very lonely and messy. There was no gold nor anything that shouts lavish— just even a plain cold stone castle. It looks like an abandoned place where there was no life of a royalty that they imagined to be.

Then in the next second, they saw a young man with its back on them. He was standing on a balcony and seemed to be just quietly looking at the view outside the castle.

There was only silence around them and all they could hear was the soft wind that was passing.

Until fourteen young men appeared from nowhere and the sounds from the violin disrupts the silence as they officially begin their performance.

"A place where any desires will erupt

The crown that everyone seems to desire

But... does it look strange?"

With a big contrast from what the crowd expected, their performance seems more emotional yet cold.

Han Baiwei’s group song is entitled Uncrowned King, this is about a king without a real crown on his head. There was no luxury or such majestic authority that anyone dreams off because unlike the king from everyone’s fantasy, they were just simply kings without a proper crown.

"With just a hand that seems like the thread

To connect one’s fate and control it

Is this great? Or is this the chain disguised with power?"

Han Baiwei finally moved and faced the audience. He stretched out his hand forward lightly and the black thread entangled with his fingers moved that it seemed like fate was on his hands. However, when he put his hand on his neck, the black thread moved and encircled on his neck instead making it look at how he sang the lyrics.

Does being the king mean having the fate of others in your hands? Or was it really just a chain that’ll tie you up?

In a place where everyone could only feel the coldness of the wall, there seems to be a suffocation that slowly builds inside their heart. As if telling them that this is not your dream fantasy but a cruel reality.

Some of the audience couldn’t help but touch their necks as if they could feel the thread on Han Baiwei’s neck on them. It keeps on tightening as seconds goes by, making them have a hard time breathing properly.

With such state, the atmosphere of the performance became even more cold and menacing.

"Your Highness, can you take this pain away?" A member moved closer to Han Baiwei and suddenly held his arm and touched his own neck as if begging to remove the thread on his neck but Han Baiwei’s face didn’t even show a bit of pity. Instead, he just looked at him with emotionless eyes, looking contemptuous.

"It was your choice to take the crown, Your Majesty."

Han Baiwei’s expression changed as if hearing those words— even though it came from his own lips, made him feel unbearable. Then above his head, a crown made of thorns appeared and the performance became even more sharper.

Even if they are just an uncrowned king, the thing they have, the actions that they did, and the choice that he made clearly tells him that he had no choice but to accept the thorn crown.

Instead of having the crown that shines bright to signify himself as a king that should have been proud, the crown that he has is shouting the cruelness he has to take.

The audience looked at the performance in front of them and couldn’t just imagine how could someone like Han Baiwi decide to take this kind of concept when he has the choice to do a safer choice?

Of course this decision was not made in a rush. At first, Han Baiwi also thought so to do with luxury and power. Chen Wei was also in the group so they were supposed to take that route. But when they were about to take this route, Cao Ming came to say goodbye to him.

Facing a close friend, Han Baiwei didn’t know what to express. He had been naive to think about the latter’s innocence and only when he revealed his true colors did he finally notice all the discord that he had been constantly sending to him so he would bully Han Suwen even more. At first he was angry that he was deceived and was used as a tool for the things that Cao Ming manipulated but he also remembered the life that the young man had.

His life experience was more cruel than his. He was lucky enough to have a mother who was able to stand firmly even when his father took an illegitimate child inside their house. His mother was able to fight for what should have been to him and thus he was able to live the life that anyone envied.

He didn’t experience what the latter had and thus, with the last sympathy towards an old friend, he plans to just ignore him.

"I’m sorry," Cao Ming apologized. "I shouldn’t have sowed discord towards you and your brother."

Han Baiwei scoffed. "What brother? Anyway, even without you I still hate him. I will definitely do those things again even without you!"

But Cao Ming shook his head slightly with a little smile on his face. "You wouldn’t do that because you didn’t hate Suwen at all."

"!!!" Han Baiwei flinched and his face flushed as if his tail was stepped on. "Who said that I didn’t hate him? I hate him at all! I hate him to the core!"

"Then why didn’t you kick him out of your house?"

"Isn’t it because my father didn’t want to? Besides, I have no right."

"You have all the rights, Weiwei. Your mother fought for your right as the legitimate son and you knew that you had the capability to drive him away. But you did not," Cao Ming pointed out. "Aside from that, even if he was bullied as an illegitimate outsider, no one dares to hurt him too badly because you didn’t allow them, right?’

"It’s just because that will tarnish my family’s reputation again! It’s such a hit on my ego that outsiders like them would hurt him when they have no right!"

"Outsiders? So you are treated as someone in your family?"

"!!!!" Han Baiwe’s face flushed again "I-It’s not!"

Cao Ming shakes his head helplessly. "Weiwei, stop denying it." Then he sighs. "I’m sorry that because of me, your relationship together became a mess. It was my fault for putting blame and thinking that Suwen and Bai Ling are the same."

Han Baiwei didn’t respond when he remembered the fake illegitimate child.

"I actually dreamed about him," Cao Ming has a small smile on his face. "He was such a small child and really looked pitiful. I just realized that if it was him who was there and became my brother, maybe our fate would not end like this."

He didn’t answer and just listened to him.

"Don’t waste time anymore and fix your relationship with him. Even your mother didn’t do anything to Suwen because she also believes that he didn’t do anything and it was just his mother’s doing for him to be born this way. Neither Suwen nor Bai Yue wants this kind of role in their life."

Cao Ming stepped close and patted his shoulder. "I’m going away for a while, Weiwei. Don’t hold back yourself, okay?"

After Cao Ming left, he actually found it hard to adjust first. Because the latter was always there and even acted for him always, there are many things that he found that he couldn’t do without him.

He admitted that even with Cao Ming’s manipulation, Han Baiwei was able to live without regrets in life.

However this was his reality and thus he had no choice but to adapt and adjust. Then he didn’t know why he suddenly thought about such a concept for their performance.

Maybe he just realized that he was like an uncrowned king. His life may look like royalty but in reality, this was just a facade because of the threads that controlled him. Like how Cao Ming manipulated him and how he felt like he was chained.

But as ironic as it was, it was also Cao Ming who told me not to hold back anymore.

Thus, when Han Baiwei touched his neck again, he grabbed the black thread and forced it away from him. He also grabbed the thorned crown above him and threw it aside.

When Han Baiwei no longer felt the suffocation inside him, the expression on his face turned a bit softer but firmer.

"Does this thread chains you?

Does fate write your end?

Then why not cut it off when you have the power?"

Amidst the desolate and cold castle, the long and wide robe that he was wearing turned red and a small yet golden crown appeared above his head. For the other members, they also have the crowns but didn’t have the robe. However, this was enough to make everyone feel that they are also part of being a king.

"I won’t hold back

Because even with I am a king without a crown

I am still my king..."

****