"But when a doctor like me earns a few million, or tens of millions, they’re all shocked beyond belief?"
"What kind of twisted logic is that?!"
Yu Suye said in all seriousness, "Exactly. It’s true that we’re long past the era where a nuclear scientist earned less than someone selling tea-leaf eggs."
"But the moment Feifan’s income was exposed, it still drew so many people online to gawk and condemn it."
"It just goes to show that many people’s mindsets are still stuck in the past."
Their uncle, Shu Lei, said slowly, "A large portion of them are probably just taking this opportunity to vent their resentment about high hospital fees."
"It doesn’t matter what these online keyboard warriors say, but I’m worried about how the hospital will handle this."
Shu Lei said worriedly, "As a public hospital, will the Affiliated Hospital use this public outcry as an excuse to cut Feifan’s income?"
"After all, that salary is indeed quite high. I bet a lot of other doctors at the hospital will feel it’s unfair too."
Yu Suye huffed. "The hospital wouldn’t dare. Feifan’s income might be high, but the hospital takes the lion’s share."
"If the hospital goes too far..."
She glanced at Yan Feifan and said, "With Feifan’s medical skills, he could go anywhere in the world..."
Not long after breakfast, Feng Jian drove Yan Feifan and Yu Suye to the Affiliated Hospital.
The moment Yan Feifan got out of the car, a group of people swarmed him, holding up phones and cameras.
Feng Jian and Yu Suye quickly spread their arms, flanking Yan Feifan on his left and right to protect him like a mother hen guarding her chick.
"There’s no need!"
Yan Feifan took a step forward. He looked at the diligent "citizen journalists" in front of him and noticed a familiar face among them—Qiaoyan.
He cleared his throat and said, "I know what you want to ask, so I’ll just say a few things."
"First, the online leaks are mostly true."
"My income over the past few months has indeed not been small."
"Second, I don’t understand why so many people find it unbelievable."
"Why can’t I earn a high income with my own skills?"
Just then, Qiaoyan shouted, "Mr. Yan, with such a high income, why can’t we find any record of you making charitable donations?"
"We can’t even find any donation records from you to the Extraordinary Public Welfare Fund that you run."
Yan Feifan met Qiaoyan’s gaze and retorted, "I devote my energy to running the Extraordinary Charity Fund so that more children with disabilities and deformities can receive treatment. Isn’t that charity?"
"I perform free reconstructive plastic surgery for children with disabilities and deformities. Doesn’t that count as charity?"
"Does it only count as being compassionate if I donate money?"
Yan Feifan’s sharp gaze swept over each of them as he said sarcastically, "You all just see my high income. Have you ever paid attention to what I’ve actually done...?"
He was about to say more, but he suddenly felt it was all pointless.
Somehow, a lonely, wounded feeling welled up in Yan Feifan’s heart, bringing to mind the saying: "Those who know me will say I am worried; those who do not will ask what I am seeking."
’Sigh. The tallest tree invites the wind. It’s lonely at the top.’
Yan Feifan stopped paying attention to them and walked toward the neurosurgery inpatient building nearby...