I turned to take my phone from my mom's pocket to call the police, but she tightly held onto her own pocket.

Her face turned red and then pale, her teeth grinding loudly.

The next moment, she raised her hand and slapped me.

Her face flushed, pointing at my nose, scolding, "Zhang Yuanyuan! You have no manners at home, that's one thing, but do you have no manners at all? How dare you speak to adults like that?"

I was stunned.

Although my mom's slap wasn't heavy, combined with her tone and expression, it was extremely hurtful.

My cheeks felt like they were burning, and tears immediately welled up.

My dad's face also looked grim, as dark as the bottom of a pot.

My mom's mouth kept moving, constantly scolding me.

She shouted, "If you can't control your mouth, I'll sew it shut when we get home, you uncultured brat."

My dad turned to the neighbors to apologize.

I clearly heard my dad say, "We made a mistake, sorry."

"This spoiled girl has no manners, no respect, she's out of control."

My mind was blank until we left.

Why did my parents blame me when it was clearly someone else's fault?

This matter was left unresolved.

I couldn't understand my parents' actions at all.

Later, back at home, I was so angry that I argued with my parents, crying and shouting, "They were the ones at fault! Why are you turning around and scolding me?"

"Why did you give them gifts when we could have called the police, could have contacted the property management..."

My mom tightly held onto the electricity bill, her eyes red as she roared, "You don't understand! They are our neighbors, we can't ruin years of relationship over this small matter."

"Otherwise, how will others see us in the future? If word gets out that we had a falling out over three hundred yuan, who will dare to associate with us..."

I widened my eyes.

Her arguments were completely different from yesterday.

My mom poked my forehead, raising her voice, "I see you haven't had enough slaps yet. Your dad and I discussed it nicely, but you insist on calling the police!"

Her eyes reflected my bewildered face, wrinkles creased with immense anger.

While my dad remained silent, his face dark, his eyes glaring at me fiercely, as if wanting to tear me apart.

From that day on, I suddenly realized that my parents' elbows always bent towards outsiders.

They were people-pleasers, willing to sacrifice anything to gain others' favor.

In their eyes, my feelings were insignificant compared to those unrelated outsiders, because they were the closest people to me in this world, so even without deliberate effort, I would always stand by their side due to blood ties.