"Philadelphia is far less prosperous than New York. What's more, we are not from Philadelphia. Our family's farm is in the suburbs. It usually takes half an hour to drive to the nearby town, let alone Philadelphia."
Victor shook his head and continued: "Donna's illness cost the family a lot of money. After mom and Donna passed away, it also cost a lot of money to hold the funeral. The harvest on the farm was not very good, so we couldn't even pay for you."
Paying part of the tuition will only allow you to take out a loan."
"In addition to college fees, the fees for medical school are terrifyingly high. We don't know when you will pay off the loan... Have you really paid off the loan?" Victor asked hesitantly.
Strange was stunned. Of course he paid off all the loans because he made a lot of money from the immortality factor industry and even bought a nice house and a nice car in New York.
"Didn't I tell you all?! You can come and live in New York. I've said it many times, but you just won't come!"
"Stephen!" Victor said in a higher tone: "Even if my family can't provide you with more help, it can't hinder you anymore. Eugene and I both think so!"
"The reason why he didn't want to come to New York for medical treatment was because he was afraid that people would laugh at his Philadelphia accent. Because one year, when you went home, you said that you had spent a lot of effort to get rid of this accent. If you use this accent in class,
If you speak with an accent, no one will even invite you to parties."
Strange opened his mouth and recalled that he seemed to have said this, so he hurriedly explained: "No, I don't mean... I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the Philadelphia accent, but
Here in New York, they are..."
"Of course we know." Victor looked into Strange's eyes and said, "Even when I go to a small town to deliver things, those people think I'm from the suburbs and don't want to talk to me.
What about New York?"
"People from small places just don't get along well in big cities. This is a truth that everyone knows. You have no friends or relatives here. You have to study and live, but your family can't provide you with any help.
, although dad never said it, he was always worried."
Strange said dully: "Didn't I tell you? I made a lot of money, I remember I already told you??"
"But, how much is too much?" Victor asked back: "Yes, your salary is very high, you are the best surgeon, you will definitely make a lot of money, but what about the housing prices in New York? What about the prices here?
?Don’t you need to get married? Don’t you need to raise children here? Don’t your children need to go to college and pay for tuition? Do you want him to take out a loan like you did?”
Strange was stopped by his question again. He calculated the savings he had on hand. Although it was enough to deal with these problems, it was indeed not too abundant if he followed his perfectionist expectations.
Although Strange has not considered the so-called marriage and having children now, he has a bigger burden, and that is Kama Taj.
The magicians of Kama Taj also need to spend money to operate in ordinary society. Although the solar system development plan will grant them funds, it is still not enough.
Victor was counting on his fingers: "You work in the Presbyterian Hospital, so you can't buy a house too far away, but land is very expensive here. Even if you don't buy it on the Isle of Man, you can't go to a place that's too remote."
"If you can't buy it within walking distance, then you must buy a car. I think the cars parked in the parking lot downstairs are not cheap. It's not like we can just buy a pickup truck and drive it in the suburbs."
"If you want to fall in love with a local girl in New York, you have to make a reservation at a restaurant and treat her to dinner. The good restaurants here are so expensive, and you have to give her gifts during holidays..."
"I just asked about the salary standards of the nurses in the ward and the salary standards of the surgeons. It is indeed a lot, but if it is used in these areas, it can only be said to be insufficient, not to mention the education of the children.
Private schools are very expensive..."
Just when Strange was about to say something, Victor said: "If dad and I come to live together, you can't live in a single apartment anymore. You need at least a two-bedroom house."
"Listen, Victor, this is not a problem!" Strange explained hard: "I make a lot of money, much more than you think. I have a big house, right in the most prosperous part of Manhattan.
The neighborhood overlooks the entire night view of New York. I can take you there tonight..."
"No, Stephen, this is not the most important thing." Victor frowned and said, "Dad told me that if I tell you about his condition, you will definitely let him go to the Presbyterian Hospital for treatment."
"So what?" Strange asked puzzledly: "Isn't Presbyterian Hospital good enough? This is the best hospital in New York and even the entire East Coast!"
"That's why he can't go." Victor looked into Strange's eyes and said, "You are not originally from New York, and the interpersonal relationships here are unstable. If you want to join the circle of colleagues,
Of course we have to follow New York’s rules.”
"If dad and I come, they will definitely know that you are the son of a farmer from a small place, and that will make you look down upon."
Victor sighed and said: "It's not easy to mix in the circles in other places. You have to pretend to be a local, forget about your not-so-privileged background, and talk about some fashionable topics."
"But if you have relatives and friends from those places before, you can no longer maintain your disguise." Victor looked at Strange through the high eyebrows and said, "Stephen, we all understand
You, you don’t want to break your perfect image, and we don’t want to break you either.”
Strange was completely stunned. He took a deep breath, and then said absurdly: "So, he would rather endure the pain of his lungs being rotten than come here???"
He stood up from the chair, spread his hands and kept pacing on the spot and said: "You are really crazy! You are a group of lunatics! Are you..."
Suddenly, he stood there again and fell silent. Victor also stood up, patted his shoulder and said, "Dad woke up before, and he said he didn't tell anyone that he was your father.
, so your colleagues and nurses probably don’t know yet. As long as you two have other intersections, you won’t..."
Strange shook off Victor's hand and said, "In your eyes, am I a monster who has no feelings and doesn't care about any family members in order to maintain a perfect image?"
Victor didn't seem to understand what he was talking about. At this time, there was a knock on the door. Then, Strange saw a look of fear on Victor's face, and he subconsciously went to
He took a step back, seemingly looking for a place to hide.
The fear and cowardice in his eyes made Strange completely collapse. He leaned on the chair next to him in a somewhat rude squatting posture that he would never do normally, and cried with his shoulders hunched.
.
Schiller opened the door, walked in gently, and lowered his voice and said to Victor: "I am his friend, you go out first, I have something to tell him..."
Victor glanced at his brother, hesitated for a moment, and then went out. Schiller helped Strange up. At this time, Strange had even cried so much that he couldn't care less about his appearance.
Schiller did nothing, just walked to the door and turned the lock button.
He could clearly see that Strange's shoulders shook when he heard the "click" sound, and then the twitching caused by crying weakened a lot.
Schiller shook his head. Strange's symptoms were too typical. Because the family education model was too traditional, he was somewhat insecure. The way he sought a sense of security was to build himself into a perfect person.
A person, as long as others can't make mistakes, will always be in an advantageous position.
Unlike in the comics, the Strange that Schiller knew was smooth sailing and experienced almost no setbacks.
First, he was dragged into the pit of immortality factor by Schiller in a daze, and then because of the Universal Demon God's Shared Wealth Project, he successfully took over the responsibility of the Supreme Mage and also owned the Holy Sanctuary.
Later, when the solar system development plan began to be implemented, the mages continued to overcome difficulties under his leadership and developed many magical energy civilian technologies, which made his reputation even higher.
I have never experienced the despair of losing my hand, nor have I given up on myself, or been drunk every night, nor have I found a little light in the darkness in times of despair, abandoned everything, and escaped into Buddhism.
This Strange didn't look away, but he looked too far away. Precisely because his level was too high now, he could understand how ordinary people like his father and brother were doing in these daily busy lives.
How much have I worried about him in my secular life?
Precisely because he is now successful and has nothing to worry about anymore, he can feel how much these worries that are insignificant to him and cannot change anything take up for an ordinary person who has not yet transcended human social life.
Extra energy.
How much consideration do you have to have in order to separate your precious mind from the difficult life and think about others? More than that, if you endure extra pain and avoid shadows, you will be more like a saint.
Schiller spent more than an hour trying to comfort Strange and get him to recover from the convulsions of deep crying. Just as he was about to take a drink of water, the phone rang again.
"Dr. Schiller, I'm sorry, are you okay now?" Steve's voice came from the other side. When Schiller heard his tone trembling a little, he understood that he must be sick.
"Listen, Steve, take a deep breath, just like I taught you before, stop staring at something, look at its details, and block out the hallucinations that appear in front of you... Where are you now?"
"Avengers' base? Spider-Man is there too? Give him the phone... hello? Peter? Yes, I know he is in bad condition. Oh, no, don't comfort him first, get out of there first..."
"Listen to me, Peter, I'm a professional psychiatrist. Yes, you can find an excuse and leave there first, leaving Steve alone for a while...I'll be there right away."