make a show of being in earnest
To put on a show as if there were such a thing. Mao Dun's Midnight: "Tu Weiyue's magic weapon is to talk big. It's like he's really serious. He's full of ideas and confidence!"
It refers to "acting like a preposition" and "acting like a role model". It refers to "acting like a role model" and "verb object" type
make a show of being in earnest
The opposite side of the story - fǎn miàn wén zhāng
be neither extravagant nor thrifty - bù fēng bù shā
traces left by chariot and horse - chē zhén mǎ jì