Seeing the fear in Selena''s eyes, I reached out to gently stroke her hair, trying to calm her down.


    "Selena, don''t be afraid. Thatpany was left to you by your grandfather. Even if not for yourself, think about him. Would you really want the business he worked so hard to build to fall into someone else''s hands?"


    Hearing this, Selena shook her head. Her face was full of reluctance. Still, she clung to my hand and looked at me with a pitiful expression.


    "But if I get discharged, wouldn''t that mean you would leave? Hudson, I don''t want you to leave me. Stay with me, please. I can manage thepany from the hospital."


    Knowing your enemy as much as you knew yourself was the only way to not be defeated. If she stayed hidden away in the hospital, how would she ever know what was really happening at thepany?


    I sighed and ultimately decided topromise.


    For now, Selena''s condition seemed stable. With proper care over the next month or two, she might be fully cured.


    I looked into her eyes, grasping her hand with mine so that our hands wereyered together.


    "Don''t worry. Even if you''re discharged, I won''t leave. I''ll stay with you for the rest of the treatment. Selena, thepany is facing issues right now. Avoiding problems won''t solve them. You need to face the challenges and deal with them bravely."


    Selena hesitated. She frowned and shook her head. "But what if I can''t handle it?"


    She turned away, avoiding my gaze, and buried her head in my chest. She murmured, "I can''t stand those old folks at thepany. They alwayspare me to others, saying I''m not as good. But what does it matter how well others dopared to me?"


    Listening to her, I recalled that summer from long ago.


    That summer, when Selena came to do entry-level work, she was often scolded by her team leader, whopared her to others and said she was useless. The leader told her to go home and be a pampered daughter. There was no need for her to suffer here.


    At that time, Selena was only 17 or 18 years old. She was young and prideful. After being scolded, she didn''t dare argue because her family had warned her. Instead, she would run off to cry in the hallway alone.


    Back then, to carry out the duty of a leader, I alwaysforted and encouraged her.


    Many times, Selena would look up at me with teary eyes and softly ask, "Why can others do it but not me? Hudson, am I really that bad? Am I that bad at everything?"


    I didn''t know how tofort others, so I could only say a few words of encouragement and then silently hand her some tissues, telling her to stop crying. But the next day, she woulde back as if nothing had happened, smiling and begging me to teach her some operational procedures repeatedly.


    "Selena, have you forgotten what you said to me that summer seven years ago?" "You said there are no tasks that can''t bepleted, only people who refuse to work hard for it. You also said, ''I am Selena, after all. What in the world could defeat me? I am Selena.""


    Hearing this, Selena smiled and wiped her tears, looking at me.


    "Hudson, I didn''t think you still remembered that. I thought you had forgotten. But that summer was seven years ago now. I can''t believe we''ve been together for so long."


    How could I ever forget?