4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Final Rendering: He must have been very satisfied at the time; why else would he have been wearing such a happy face? Acknowledgment: Thanks to everyone. As there appeared to be general agreement about the doubt cast by the phrase 以為 I was compelled to base my decision on other factors. Kiukakuan provided a great explanation as to how treat the phrasing Ａ以為Ｂ一𤴓Ｃ, but failed to treat the relationship between 以為 and 要不然. Perhaps he/she did not understand the question. Lu Wang took a very philosophical approach that clouded somewhat his obvious understanding of the distinctive use of the word 以為 to indicate a belief that is contrary to fact. Angeline provided still another English word for the same idea conveyed by the words belief and think, but provided no new real insight. Nissa made grammatically clearer the nuance contained in Lu Wang's philosophical explanation. In effect, the term 以為 need not always express a belief, thought, or feeling that is contrary to fact, but rather emphasize the subjective nature of the belief, thought, or feeling, and thus the acknowledgment of the possibility of mistaken belief, thought, or feeling. Vicky provided alternative Chinese expressions that could replace 以為, but unfortunately no one either confirmed or disconfirmed her very thoughtful entry. My Chinese is not strong enough to judge with so little to go on. In the end I was torn between Lu Wang's and Nissa's contributions, as they were both confirmed: the former by Pei Ling, and the latter by PK. So, I went with Nissa, despite her somewhat awkward English. Thanks to wherestip for pointing out my obvious blunder with regard to 覺 and 學. In Cantonese these two characters are not only written differently, but they are also pronounced differently. Please do not ask how the mistake came about, because that was not the only one. I also messed up on the pronouns . . . . Discussion: Please see http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/part3/III-3b-g.html#s18 for further discussion regarding the context of this question. My very best from the land of no mountains surrounded by sea on many sides."