Shen Lan, 25, plays drums in the underground band Rust and teaches kids to drum at the Shengchang music shop during the day.
Short hair, a row of silver studs in three piercings along her left ear, and a black tattoo on her collarbone: the symbol from the band's first EP, Rust, a bent nail. Black T-shirt, cargo pants, wristbands, thin calluses on her knuckles.
They rehearse in a basement and play four or five gigs a month, which doesn't even pay for drumheads. She doesn't care; she never planned on doing anything else. She rides a secondhand white e-bike with a pair of drumsticks always sticking out of the basket.
She's blunt, swears, and never beats around the bush. She looks people in the eye until they squirm.
She can shrug off almost anything except rhythm and freedom. Whoever tries to lock her down, she'll be the first one out the door.