Yes, I Am The Villainess.

Another day, another lecture. Another lecture? And another two hours for Yaa Asieduaa Boateng to drift through with her mind on one thing: The Glory of The Empire. As she sat there in the lecture theatre with her legs crossed, Yaa supported her head with one hand, and looked at her lecturer with a blank expression. Her mind was elsewhere; thinking about her simulation husband, the Prince of War, the Ninth Prince, Xiao Chengyuan. She could barely pronounce his name, but she knew one thing: his face. He had a face too good for reality! But wasn't The Glory of The Empire a simulation game that had actual live actors playing its characters? So he was real? Nevertheless, he was truly handsome. The most handsome man in the world in her opinion. It wasn't just Xiao Chengyuan's face that made him handsome. The aura that surrounded him was alluring and yet cold. So cold that her room would feel chilly, even on a Harmattan afternoon, whenever he made an entrance on the screen. Yaa teleported back to Earth just in case the lecturer tried to call on her or said anything important. The lecturer was still going on about the Atlantic Revolutions. She would be sure to catch up when she got back to her hall. Yaa then pulled out her phone from her bag to check the time. Thirty more minutes to go. All she had to do was get through those thirty minutes, ten minutes at a time. "Lord, have mercy. This is actually long. Thirty minutes feels like three months when this man is talking," Yaa thought to herself. She put her phone back into her handbag and leaned back against the auditorium bench's backrest. On the entire bench, there was no one to her right. The people to her left were a few students who had huddled into the far corner as a group, so she seemed like a lonely island drifting in the ocean. She often felt that way and enjoyed the space and comfort of loneliness. Loneliness wasn't always comforting, though. God knows that sometimes Yaa just needed someone to hug, but she was so utterly alone that she didn't have that. Yaa pulled herself back from her melodramatic thoughts because she knew exactly where they were headed, and she couldn't even bring herself to visit that dark place in her mind. The lecture ended, and Yaa was out of there in a flash. Yaa was moving at top speed. Yaa was up the stairs and in her room within minutes. She didn't even bother changing. She tossed off her shoes in front of her closet, unhooked her bra and pulled it off, then dropped onto her unmade bed like a WWE wrestler. She shared the room with three others, but it was 8 p.m., and those three were not around. She looked around and saw that their phones were nowhere to be seen. Thank God! Those noisy, ill-mannered girls were probably off somewhere and wouldn't be back for a while. Yaa then took out her laptop and began to study— Nope. She took it out to play The Glory of The Empire. The simulation opened, and she was currently on a chapter called "The Second Choice Is Always The Best." Yaa was immediately skeptical. She was currently the wife of the Prince of War, Xiao Chengyuan, and her husband had a childhood sweetheart. Yaa raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. "I might not be Einstein, but is that good-looking motherfucker going to marry that two-faced pick-me hoe?" she murmured. She clicked the skip button, dropped her phone, sat up and clapped. "I knew it! I said I knew it! Men!! Mennnn!! Hmph." Yaa passionately shook a disapproving finger at the phone and added, "Xiao Chengyuan, or whatever your name is, how could you do something this evil? Hm? Answer me! You—" She took in a deep breath and said to herself, "I need to relax. I. Need. To. Relax. Oh, God of Abraham, help me. But as for this particular man? He shall die today." After that heated declaration, Yaa lay on her tummy and skipped the premise, which read: "In the heat of the aftermath of the Crown Prince's failed rebellion, the Prince of War finally confronts his feelings for his childhood sweetheart and decides to take her as his second wife." The scene played; Her character, Shen Yuehua, stood with her arms crossed in front of her husband and his childhood sweetheart, Lin Qinyue. Shen Yuehua stood as a perfect embodiment of the classic villainess: a deadly, knowing smile and a permanent disregard for everyone else. Take Shen Yuehua out of there, and the scene was sickening. Lin Qinyue's frail, tear-faced self was huddled up in Xiao Chengyuan's heroic arms as he glared at Shen Yuehua. They stood under the peach tree as its blossoms fell on them in that gentle, cinematic manner. With the way Xiao Chengyuan was glaring at Shen Yuehua, one would think he had been wronged. Men, especially the handsome ones, are dangerous. Xiao Chengyuan, after having a dramatic stare-off with his lawfully wedded wife as he cradled another woman, finally spoke up with unbelievable boldness, "Shen Yuehua. You and I both know that there's no love between us. You are an evil woman who does nothing but scheme against the innocent for your own selfish desires. I can't divorce you because our marriage was a royal decree, yet I can't bar my heart any longer." Xiao Chengyuan then gently unwrapped Lin Qinyue from his arms and held her by the shoulders as he looked into her eyes lovingly, adding the worst part: "I have decided to take Lin Qinyue, the love of my life, as my second wife." He then looked up and glared at his wife. "I have made my decision. Our wedding will be sometime from now. Shen Yuehua, you can't stop us." Shen Yuehua was visibly fuming on screen, but in front of the screen, Yaa was laughing out loud. How could a grown man say something so- puppy-love? Damn, and she thought he had a strong aura. "Oh my goodness, this man is trash! God, have mercy upon us all! Anyway." Her laughter died down soon, and she cleared her throat and got back to the game. Lin Qinyue gently broke herself free from Xiao Chengyuan's embrace and walked up to Shen Yuehua, tears still in her eyes. She spoke in a pitiful tone, her voice choked by tears. "Sister Shen Yuehua—" "Sister? Girl, when? Last I recall, I don't remember adding a pick-me when I paid GHC 500 to customise my family. Kwasia girl. Tsww." Yaa rolled her eyes. She disliked Lin Qinyue with a passion. Lin Qinyue went on with her pity-fishing words without interference from the annoyed player. "I truly love Brother Xiao Chengyuan, and I'll never do anything to harm him. I know that you're actually a good person and wouldn't stop us from being happy together. Right? I promise when I enter this mansion, I will do my duties diligently and quietly. I know my family is not as powerful as yours, and so I'll know my place and never overstep." "Wow. Her ability to make the real wife seem like a villain must be seriously studied. Oh yeah, so what should I choose?" Yaa murmured to herself as the options for her response appeared on the screen. "Wait, did she, did she just smirk?" Yaa was taken aback by Lin Qinyue's subtle smirk. It was like she was daring her to pick. Yaa had never been good with such temptation. (A) Slap Lin Qinyue. Yaa immediately chose A when it popped up. All the others did not matter. Shen Yuehua launched her palm like a spring trap, snapping Lin Qinyue's head to the side upon impact. It was a dirty slap. "Lin Qinyue!" Xiao Chengyuan cried as he rushed forward to the stumbling, bewildered girl. "Lin Qinyue? Brother, you should be calling 911. Damn, that girl is heavy-handed." Yaa nodded in appreciation as she remarked. Foreign Vocabulary. *Kwasia: It means foolish in Twi. A common dialect for the Akan people. *Tsww: It is a sound made by sucking air through clenched teeth. It is made to show annoyance.