diff --git a/kb_workflow/crawler/config.py b/kb_workflow/crawler/config.py
index cdb0630..2497e11 100644
--- a/kb_workflow/crawler/config.py
+++ b/kb_workflow/crawler/config.py
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ class CrawlerConfig(BaseModel):
 
     # Proxy settings
     proxy: Optional[ProxyConfig] = Field(None, description="Proxy configuration")
-    proxy_required: bool = Field(default=True, description="Whether proxy is mandatory")
+    proxy_required: bool = Field(default=False, description="Whether proxy is mandatory (False for 旁路由 auto-proxy)")
 
     # Rate limiting
     min_delay: float = Field(default=1.0, description="Minimum delay between requests (seconds)")
diff --git a/kb_workflow/crawler/zhihu_crawler.py b/kb_workflow/crawler/zhihu_crawler.py
index b424da4..e343f5f 100644
--- a/kb_workflow/crawler/zhihu_crawler.py
+++ b/kb_workflow/crawler/zhihu_crawler.py
@@ -19,7 +19,8 @@ from playwright.sync_api import Route, Response, sync_playwright
 from tenacity import Retrying, stop_after_attempt, wait_exponential, RetryError
 
 from kb_workflow.metadata.zhihu_extractor import PlaywrightBrowser
-from kb_workflow.pipeline.config import get_settings
+# NOTE: get_settings is imported lazily in _get_cookie() to avoid circular import
+# Circular: zhihu_crawler -> pipeline.config -> pipeline.platforms -> zhihu_crawler
 from .models import (
     AnswerData,
     ArticleData,
@@ -129,6 +130,9 @@ class ZhihuCrawler:
         Returns:
             Cookie string from settings
         """
+        # Lazy import to avoid circular dependency:
+        # zhihu_crawler -> pipeline.config -> pipeline.platforms -> zhihu_crawler
+        from kb_workflow.pipeline.config import get_settings
         settings = get_settings()
         return settings.zhihu_cookie.get_secret_value()