At the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), Dr Strange asks Wong a question:
Dr Strange: Are you happy?
Wong: That's a, um, interesting question.
Dr Strange: You'd think that saving the world would get you there, but it doesn't.
Why didn't Wong answer this question?
He does answer the question. First of all, this is a simple yes/no question that people would expect you to answer yes to even if you are not happy. There are several instances in the film where this happens to Stephen and this is why he asks Wong the same question.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Yeah. I bet. Truly, I'm just glad that you're happy.
Doctor Christine Palmer: I am. I really, really am.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Good.
Doctor Christine Palmer: Are you?
Doctor Stephen Strange: I'm happy.
So by not directly answering the question Wong is answering with 'No'.
The very next line of the movie after the block you've quoted goes on to confirm this.
Wong: Sometimes, I do wonder... of my other lives. Yet I remain grateful in this one. Even with each tribulations.
Wong considers himself grateful rather than happy.
Per Marvel.com, he's certainly not unhappy that he just saved the world, but he's also slightly surprised to realise or admit that saving the world didn't bring him happiness.
Lest we forget, we just saw him lose hundreds of his friends and employees fighting a totally pointless battle against someone he considered an ally.
“He [Benedict Wong] has such a strong perspective on what it means for Wong to be the Sorcerer Supreme,” continued [Screenwriter Michael] Waldron. “He takes that role very seriously. We wanted to advance Wong’s character from where he was in the first movie. He’s the Sorcerer Supreme now, and he has assumed a major role of leadership in Kamar-Taj. He’s lived five years that Stephen didn’t live — half a decade, a pretty hard decade. He’s a different guy in that he’s just a little more battle hardened and everything.
Waldron revealed how Wong presented a deep contrast on the film’s antagonist, Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch. “Wong represents kind of the enlightened version of what Wanda has gone through,” stated Waldron. “Wong, like Wanda, has suffered loss, but understands that in other universes he might be happy. There is comfort in knowing that in those other universes, other versions of you might be okay. He looks at the Multiverse, not as a treasure chest to be pillaged, but as something beautiful to be admired, and to take comfort and solace from.”
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’: The Wisdom of Wong and Charisma of Benedict Wong
