diff --git a/backend/tests/conftest.py b/backend/tests/conftest.py
index fb11398..83e92a2 100644
--- a/backend/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/backend/tests/conftest.py
@@ -68,12 +68,13 @@ def get_admin_password() -> str:
     Returns the password from ORCHARD_TEST_PASSWORD environment variable,
     or 'changeme123' as the default for local development.
     """
-    return os.environ.get("ORCHARD_TEST_PASSWORD", "changeme123")
+    # Use 'or' to handle empty string (when CI variable is undefined)
+    return os.environ.get("ORCHARD_TEST_PASSWORD") or "changeme123"
 
 
 def get_admin_username() -> str:
     """Get the admin username for test authentication."""
-    return os.environ.get("ORCHARD_TEST_USERNAME", "admin")
+    return os.environ.get("ORCHARD_TEST_USERNAME") or "admin"
 
 
 # Re-export factory functions for backward compatibility
@@ -248,9 +249,9 @@ def integration_client():
     import httpx
 
     # Connect to the running orchard-server container or deployed environment
-    base_url = os.environ.get("ORCHARD_TEST_URL", "http://localhost:8080")
-    username = os.environ.get("ORCHARD_TEST_USERNAME", "admin")
-    password = os.environ.get("ORCHARD_TEST_PASSWORD", "changeme123")
+    base_url = os.environ.get("ORCHARD_TEST_URL") or "http://localhost:8080"
+    username = get_admin_username()
+    password = get_admin_password()
 
     with httpx.Client(base_url=base_url, timeout=30.0) as client:
         # Login as admin to enable write operations