My Ex Started No Contact!!!…Sort of

So my situation is a bit unique and I’d like some advice because I think I already messed up the no contact permanently.

So I dated this girl for over 9 months, and most of it was great. I think it mostly ended due to circumstance because she was stressed about leaving on a 3-month study abroad trip and also I sort of lost myself in the relationship, letting myself invest too much of my time in her by talking to her all the time over text and whatnot because it was semi-long distance so that’s how we had to spend most of our time together until the weekends.

That led to me not spending as much time doing other things that also kept me happy. I think I sort of knew it at the time, as about a month ago I suggested a break because I knew I needed some time for myself, but at the time I hadn’t really considered how it probably made her feel unwanted and make her start thinking of moving on.

After she broke us up a few weeks ago, I did mostly an ok job of not talking to her all the time even though every fiber of my being wanted to talk it out with her, but still probably came off as a needy when we did talk.

I saw her after a week for almost a whole day one weekend as we took a short road trip to pick up her dog from some relatives, and at one point I confessed my unconditional love for her and told her I still wanted to get back together. She was resistant at first, telling me that she still did want to be in my life (seemingly interested in staying Friends With Benefits when she returned), but she wasn’t the one for me, and she didn’t want to have something tying her here while she was gone. But as the night went on she opened up more and more to me, and at the end of the night we talked about how hard it was not treating each other like we were still dating, then we fooled around and she even held out her hand for me told hold as I drove her home. She said she would be thinking about me while she’s gone and that after she gets back we can decide what we intend to do moving forward.

The days following were strange as she seemed to be sending me mixed messages, one minute being sweet and another being awkwardly casual to me (probably due to her being unsure and also too busy to think as she prepared to leave the country for 3 months). It was a bit much for me so I told her how I wasn’t sure if she may have been leading me on and it was a bit much to be so unsure about. SHE then suggested that we don’t talk about anything serious until she returns, but she still wants to call me every once in a while while she’s out there to see how my day is going. Keep in mind all this happened before I discovered your advice in this website

So here are my questions:

Does no contact not even work if the ex is the one suggesting it?

Do I answer her calls while she’s gone, keeping them mostly professional and not saying a lot about me, just listening to what she’s going through? That’s what I plan to do for now, I know this breaks the no contact rule, but I don’t want her to feel abandoned out there and blame me for it.

What if she actually doesn’t call? Do I assume this means she doesn’t want me and move on? Or do I still proceed with the plan anyway with the Magic Letter when she gets back?

In the Magic Letter do I still tell her it was a good thing we broke up, if there’s already a chance we’ll get back together anyway?

Does her being completely out of the country also negate the purpose of the no contact rule? She’ll be busy all the time and she won’t have much time to miss me.

Am I allowed to send her a quick “Good Luck” text before she leaves in a few days? Or is that too much? I plan on doing that for now.

I know this was incredibly long and there’s a lot of things to address here, but it would make me feel so much better having a game plan moving forward. I’ve already begun trying to get back to a happier me, which has been pretty awesome so far. I just know I’d prefer sharing this newfound drive and happiness with her, because she’s a really great woman, if a bit naive sometimes.